A/N: Very quick note. I would like to say, Happy 100th anniversary Disney! Amazing how far this company has come to being one of the world's famous animation stuido and creating tons of stories for their fans to enjoy and the generations to come. Now onto the chapter.
Seth looked at the portal. It was a vast exotic landscape, predominantly jungle with floating landmasses. The ecosystem was very enriching in Seth's eyes. He looked at the archway which was labeled: Pandora.
"Alright, time to check this world out." Seth said to himself. He took a deep breath and entered.
The second he did, he began to feel the air in his lungs leave, causing them to not take in the oxygen. He wheezed constantly before concentrating.
Slowly, the air returned to his lungs. He felt himself grow taller and a tail extended. Once he was done growing, he discovered his newfound appearance: a Omatikayan Na'vi. "Well, not how I wanted my first ten seconds in Pandora, but they weren't kidding about how the air is harmful for humans." Seth mused. He looked at his fingers, revealing them to be five. "Guess the whole Avatar program will be a good alibi. Or maybe they've accepted the strangeness."
Now as a Na'vi, Seth looked around, taking in the wonderful and majestic landscape that Pandora. It felt so refreshing and untouched. Of course, the Sky People had ruined that by returning after the years of peace and Seth didn't want to involve himself in any warfare. He just wanted to experience the wildlife.
"Alright, where to start…" Seth wondered aloud, looking around. "Probably should try to find Jake." The human Na'vi began to morph into an Ikran/Banshee.
It took a few minutes, getting accustomed to the two sets of wings he gained and took off to the Sea People's domain.
…
A few hours later, Seth was feeling rather exhausted. He was growing tired from flying as he felt his appendages becoming sore by the second. He hadn't found any land for him to rest on and was very tempted to just dive into the ocean and become an aquatic creature.
Seth remembered seeing the Ilu as the mounts for Sea People and thought hard about it. Soon, he felt his wings turn to flippers and fins, plummeting and splashed into the pristine water.
Immediately, Seth as an Ilu was greeted with the underwater world of Pandora. The sight was more beautiful than his previous visit to Atlantica due to the vast ocean-landscape that Pandora had, untouched by humanity/the Sky People.
Seth came across various aquatic wildlife, each so alien to him, ranging from the enormous anemones to the oddly adapted fish. He hadn't had much of a chance to discover Pandora's alien wildlife except for the land creatures so the aquatic ones were still new to him. He knew about a few marine creatures but never really explored much of it. Even when he watched the film, there was still plenty of aquatic wildlife.
Still as an Ilu, Seth maneuvered gracefully like a dolphin and saw an interesting site: a Tulkun calf.
The calf had swam a small distance from his pod. Seth, being cautious, approached the alien cetacean. The calf noticed the Ilu and swam up to him, observing the shapeshifter. Seth tilted his head as the Tulkun calf did and mirrored each other until the calf swam jovially around Seth. The two
A rumble from the mother Tulkun along with a motion of her crust caused the calf to break away from his playtime with the shapeshifter and swam back to his mother.
As the pod took off, Seth kept a reasonable distance. Remembering how all Tulkuns are connected to the Sea People, he hoped that the extraterrestrial cetaceans could lead to a Sea People tribe or at least a general direction to an archipelago.
However, Seth felt vibrations in the water and looked to see a seacraft of some sort, riding the open waters. The shapeshifter was sure that Sea People didn't use modern-day. So, that meant that humans were.
And what's worse was that a harpoon had narrowly missed a Tulkun, causing the pod to hasten their swimming.
Seth growled as he saw the pod of Tulkun under siege by a group of whalers. It reminded him of the same scene in 'Avatar: Way of Water.' He would not sit idly by as whalers pursued the pod.
Taking off, Seth changed from an Ilu to an Akula to gain some force. Once he was within distance, he gave a hard ram into the watercraft, his force doing enough to disorient the whalers.
"Woah!" A whaler said and adjusted their masks, "What was that?"
"You think it's that rogue Tulkun?" Another whaler questioned.
"That was just a small impact." The first whaler dismissed, "Let's get back to hunting, fellas!"
Seth rammed the vessel again, trying to buy the Tulkun pod time to escape. Of course, this only merely annoyed the whalers. So instead, Seth dove below the epipelagic and mesopelagic zone before taking the form of a different Pandora creature.
Rocketing from the depths, Seth emerged as a Skimwing and flew overhead, catching the hunters off guard.
"What the-" Seth cut the response off by ramming into the whaler with his wing. Having gone airborne, Seth flew around and hissed at the hunters.
"It's one of those flying alligator things!" A hunter said. "It's interrupting our little hunting spree!"
"Then take it out!" The lead hunter snapped.
The hunters on board aimed their weapons and fired but Seth dodged them by diving back into the water. Seth swam through the sea, dodging harpoons easily thanks to his current leaner shape.
The whalers got into their crab suits to chase after the shapeshifter, abandoning their craft. Activating their propellers to the max, they chased Seth through the alien ocean.
"Get that fish!" The lead whaler shouted in irritation.
As a Skimwing, Seth continued to avoid the whalers. They fired their harpoons nonstop, hopping to knick or clip his wings but Seth was far too agile. But then, Seth got tired of dodging and went on the offensive.
Seth swam further away then turned into an Akula again. Now as a predator of Pandora's ocean, he had a fighting chance.
Nothing is Lost (Give Me Strength)
I thought I could protect you
From paying for my sins
"Where did that fish go?!" A whaler yelled. Using the element of surprise, Seth bit down on the limbs of the crab machine and tore away, rendering it immobile. Seth came around, using his tail to slam the poacher's machine away.
And I've been walking this Earth long enough
That death's a gift (oh, girl)
"Great, now that alien shark is here." Another whaler groaned, seeing Seth approach and fired a speargun at the aquatic predator. Seth avoided and used his momentum to ram the glass of the crab exosuit.
Been living this life so patient
Until I see you again, it's war we're facing
I know that if I die, my only choice is still defending
No matter what they say
The bite force was stronger with six sets of teeth, so Seth tore apart the legs of the crab exosuit just as the passenger ejected out of fear. Seth proceeded to beat the machine to a pulp and growled.
My love for you is greater than their powers
And their armies from above
You give me strength
Two more crab exosuit appeared and began to chase Seth. Weaving through their spearguns, Seth saw a patch of Daisy Anemones. Remembering what happened, Seth stealthily turned into his Na'vi form. He used his neural queue, linking with the anemone as the crab exosuits gained on him.
I'm with you either way
If I die, if I stay
Give me strength
Now connected, Seth raised his arms and the anemone lashed its tendrils and constricted the machines in its grasp. The whalers ejected from the crab exosuits, activating their inflatable jackets and floating to the top.
I'm with you either way
Nothing's lost, no more pain
Just give me strength
"Fall back to Matador!" The lead whaler said, seeing how half of their group was getting taken apart by Seth's Akula form. The poachers swam up to the surface heading back to their seacraft.
The scars and the wounds
I wear them proud like tattoos
Reminds me that I lost you
Reminds me that I'll
Be living this life so patient
Seeing the poachers flee, Seth wasn't done with them yet. Now he turned back into an Ilu and made a few clicks, diving below and ready to give the whalers what they deserve for hunting Tulkun.
Until I see you again, it's war we're facing
I know that if I die, my only choice is still defending
No matter what they say
My love for you is greater than their powers
And their armies from above
You give me strength
Once all the whalers resurfaced and were on the Matador, they all took a moment to catch their breath.
I'm with you either way
If I die, if I stay
Give me strength
Until Seth, as a Tulkun himself, breached the surface. Using his larger size and weight, he dived onto the Matador and destroyed it, sending the whalers flying.
I'm with you either way
The poachers hit the water and groaned in pain. Some grabbed onto the wreckage of their vessel
Nothing's lost, no more pain
Just give me strength
With the hunters now lying afloat, Seth returned to the surface and grumbled loudly, scaring the defenseless whalers.
"Easy… easy… nice, whale." The lead hunter said, scared for their life.
Seth just released a spout of water, not even trying to give the hunter an ounce of pity. If there is one thing Seth disliked, it was poachers. He felt satisfied as he protected the Tulkun species from being exploited. The whaler fainted from sheer exhaustion and fear.
Another spout caught his attention and he saw another Tulkun. Seth dove underneath and saw the Tulkun had a missing fin, which the shapeshifter realized was Payakan.
"Payakan!" A Na'vi shouted out to the outcast Tulkun. Riding on his Ilu was Lo'ak, Payakan's spirit brother. "Woah, another Tulkun." He was followed by Kiri, Turktirey, Spider, Tsireya, and Aonung.
Seth morphed back to his Na'vi form and swam over to the teenage Na'vis, who were surprised. "A Na'vi that can turn into wildlife?" Aonung said with surprise.
"Oh no, that's just one of the things I can do in the Magical World," Seth replied as Payakan helped support him. "Thanks, Payakan." The outcast cetacean gave a low song.
"What is a Na'vi like you doing out here?" Spider asked.
"Well, I was trying to understand the fauna here but then saw a Tulkun pod under attack. I can't stand poachers." Seth explained.
"Yeah, after finding out what they did, the Metkayina clan have been trying to protect their pods." Tsireya pointed out.
Seth nodded, "So any chance you can help me get to some sort of civilization? I know you have four Jack Sulley's children." The shapeshifter gestured to the Omatikaya Na'vi and human.
"Sure, we'll lead the way." Lo'ak offered. With a few whistles, Lo'ak led the way on his Ilu mount with the other teenagers and Seth following him, while Payakan went back to his cove. The shapeshifter turned into an Ilu himself.
After an hour or so of swimming, Seth finally saw his first site of the Metkayina clan. The teenagers dismounted their Ilus and were greeted with Jake and Netriyi.
"Lo'ak, Kiri, Turikitery, Spider, where were you?" Jake asked with a concerned tone.
"Sorry, Sir." Lo'ak answered, "We were with Payakan and saw some Tulkun getting hunted. We would have helped but Seth here already stopped them."
Jake and Netriyi looked at the shapeshifter, who looked sheepish. "How did you?" Netriyi asked.
"Well…" Seth started then morphed into an Ikran and gave a screech. "Oh, I remember a competitor in the Power of 3 Tournament with that ability. That must have been you, right?" Jake guessed.
Seth reverted back to his Na'vi form and nodded. "Though why did you bring a dinosaur to the fight?" Jake asked.
Seth face-faulted at the human-turned-Navi's question. "I went for power and the deadline came up quickly." He summarized. Both adult Na'vis understood.
"What brings you to Pandora though?" Neteryi asked.
"Well, I want to learn more about the wildlife on Pandora." Seth explained, "While modern-day and prehistoric animals are cool, the Magical World grants me the ability to morph into mythical or alien beasts."
Jake and Neytiri agreed. "Of course. Eywa's creatures are majestic and powerful. I can see why you would be interested in learning more about them." Neytiri mentioned.
"Though it's getting late and it was a hassle to find you. Maybe another day and one that doesn't involve much flying or swimming." Seth said, feeling sore. "And I don't want to intrude."
"No worries, there is a portal back to the Magical World." Jake gestured to the portal, depicting the Magical World.
Seth nodded before realizing. "Wait… there was another portal?!" He gaped.
"Of course." Neytiri answered, "You did not know that?"
"I took the Pandora portal from the Animal Kingdom." Seth replied.
"Oh, right." Jake realized, "Well, that one brings you to the jungle. This one is on the Disney Sea side, considering these lands are islands."
Seth mauled that idea in his mind. "That… makes sense. Next time I'll keep that in mind."
Seth headed out of Pandora and was back in the Magical World on Disney Sea. He took his natural human form, losing the Na'vi appearance but the shapeshifter had a thought. Concentrating, he turned back into an Ikran and let out a proud screech, realizing he was capable of turning into the fauna of Pandora.,
How he was going to enjoy this in the future.
Next time: For the spooky season, Seth takes a trip to the mystic Strange Academy.
A/N: "Nothing is Lost (Give Me Strength)" by the Weekend was a no brainer for this chapter since it debuted for 'Avatar: Way of Water,' which enjoyed very much in theaters. I saw the first one when I was younger and didn't have clue to what was going on but after watching it multiple times now, I came around to like it.
Anyways, as you can, Seth can now morph into the fauna of Pandora, a helpful trait if he ever wants to bring an extraterrestrial creature to the fight. He will continue to learn more about the alien wildlife as he explore the Magical World at his leisure. Perhaps learning to morph into the variety of beasts in the Star Wars franchise?
I had classes, presentation, and exams keeping me busy. But hopefully I can get the Halloween chapter out before the end of the month.
Until next time!