Chapter 9: Departure

And like a blade falling upon a waiting neck it was done; his life, thought taken then returned, only to be given away.

"Ah but, we still have not spoken of the power she and the animals of this world seem to have" Zao said bringing attention back to the core of their conversation.

"I will answer, but first you must answer something for me" he said, gauging the reaction of everyone in the room. Some might think it foolish to demand something after what he had promised but he would keep his tribe, his family safe and to do that he needed to know.

"Why are you here, why have you come to our home?"

As he asked he saw Zao's eyes turn downcast for a moment before he reached into his coat once more and what he pulled out made his eyes go wide and made his head hang as he knew now that he had forfeited his life.

"We are here for this" he said as he revealed a hunk of Fajat, the blue metal glittering in his hand and shinning in the light.

Pulling his eyes back up to look at the hunk of metal a sigh of bitter acknowledgement flowing between his lips as he looked at the glittering ore. That made three out of three laws they had broken. And with that came the knowledge that any hope that this would end without bloodshed was now next to impossible. And as he looked into Zao's eyes he answered his question.

"It is our Vitra-tswal or soul power that you saw, it is a gift given to us by Eywa" he explained as Anthony began to tap away. He had said that he would answer their questions and he would honor that, for when his soul passed into her embrace she would not find him dishonorable.

As he finished a strange ringing noise came from Zao's wrist. His brow furrowed as he looked at the bright light and when he looked back to him, his eyes were filled with a resigned annoyance.

"It seems someone has finally come looking for you two"


Tsu'tey and his search party soared through the sky, fear and frustration deep in his heart and soul. He had never seen Sylwanin so afraid in his entire life and the fear in her eyes washed into his him and spoke of a horror he would never want to experience. Through all of it he did his best to keep it at bay, with the hope that what she had experienced had been a fluke, some bad dream brought upon some bad food, something to be easily explained and laughed about later. But that had been hours ago and under the direction of Menari they had found nothing so far.

"It's no use Tsu'tey" Takuk whined as he and his ikran flew slowly behind him. "They're probable already back wondering where we are."

"If Menari said they went this way, than there is no other way we can go" Maru defended, though Tsu'tey could tell the flying was beginning to wear her down as well.

He gritted his teeth in annoyance of this whole situation. Where had they gone? Tsu'tey swore to Eywa if he and the others found him only to catch them both rolling in the grass he would ring his little neck till his face was as purple as a flower.

Though to his both shock and thanks, that image in his mind was short lived as he saw something coming, an Ikran.

"Stop" he ordered, both to his own mount and to the others, already preparing a verbal lashing for his little brother. But as it got closer he could feel his heart begin to drop inch by inch in his chest. It was Seze to be sure, her teal scales reflecting the morning light but what wasn't there was Arvok and Neytiri.

"Oh no" Maru gasped in disbelieve as Seze screeched, flying close and circling them again and again before she flew off in the direction it came from.

"Follow her" Tsu'tey yelled as the trio chased after the fleeing banshee. Even as the wind whipped across his face, his mind was focused. A riders bond with their ikran was deep, for Seze to leave her meant something had gone horrible wrong.

They followed her for a while longer, always keeping Seze in sight only losing sight when she doze behind a hill and what laid beyond stopped them all dead in their tracks.

"What the…?" the words died in his throat even as more came to replace them. It defied everything any of them could of ever of begun to imagine. Where what should have been another part of the forest was now nothing, where trees should be was now a hole, like a gaping wound across Eywa's body. And even from their distance they could hear something, unlike anything they had ever heard.

It took another screech from Seze that pulled them from their shock as Tsu'tey looked down to see the banshee landing in the trees.

"Down" he breathed as he looked back to be sure they heard and flied down to the trees below. But even there, amongst the familiar sounds of the forest did they hear. Like a sour note it infected the melody of the forest like the first cough heralding a terrible sickness.

All of them looked off into the direction of that hole and the thought of getting any closer sending a chill up his spine.

Tsu'tey steeled his nerves and though and hopped off his ikran, pulling his bow and arrows into his hands. He walked to Seze, letting her breathe his sent and doing his best calm her.

"It's okay, it's okay" he repeated again and again like a mantra both to her and secretly to himself. After a few moments he pulled away and looked back to Maru and Takuk and motioned his head to the hole.

They sneaked silently through the trees; the tension filling their bodies as they got closer and the noise grew louder, but beyond the sound was a smell that they all recognized, death.

It hit them like a club and Tsu'tey had to fight to keep their eyes from watering. And soon they gained the first piece of the story of what was happening. The forest itself looked like it had been torn apart, the trees looking as if they had been skinned by a blind man and in the light that shined through the canopy Tsu'tey could see so much blood, it coated the forest floor, the trees, the plants everything.

"What did this" Maru asked, horror in her voice as they looked over every inch. They were hunters, the realities of life and death was no stranger to them but this was more than any of them had ever seen. What could have caused the blood to reach so high? But as Tsu'tey looked further ahead the pieces became clearer as drag lines of flattened grass leading away from the carnage and towards the strange hole could be seen.

"Whatever made that hole" he answered as their steps became slower and their breathing more shallow. Now the noise was nearly deafening, beginning to drown out even his thoughts as high pitch screeching and loud, dull thumps rang in his ears.

And at the precipice of the canopy they saw that the hole was filled with massive rumbling beasts with turning wheels and all around these beasts were tiny creatures moving around. Though it only took them a few moments before realization and dread for their minds to figure out what these things were doings as hordes of glowing blue crystals were pulled from the earth.

The blatant sacrilege sent every hair they had on end as these demons sank their fangs into Eywa.

All of this mixed together with his Arvok and Neytiri's disappearance was making the worst possible scenario more and more likely and he felt his rage building.

"Tsu'tey look" Maru said, pointing down to the forest floor, where a large branch had been ripped from its parent tree, jagged splinters covering the area around it. And not far from it was a familiar sight. Gauging his options he slung his bow back over his body.

"Cover me" he said as the other two nodded in confirmation and he began his slow decent down. When his feet touched the ground he was greeted with a light squish of still liquid blood seeping its way between his toes. From down here he could fully see the carnage; small blackened holes dotted the ground and if he tried he could see the parts of some unfortunate animal lying in several places. The fact he couldn't tell what animal it was spoke of the brutality. Pulling his eyes away he saw what he came for; lying in the grass was a knife, Neytiri's knife.

He knew the blade well; he was there when Sylwanin had gifted it to her, the tool having been made from the jaw bone of a Direhorse. Feeling the bone in his palm he felt his heart racing, the final embers of hope taking its last breath. And in that growing despair he heard something familiar, but the familiarity gave him no peace as through the brush he heard the whooshing noise of the silver skinned creature he and his brother had seen long ago. The memories of that time rushing back, of the shimmering skin and their rush to tell everyone.

And he had allowed himself to forget; to believe that whatever it had been was harmless was now at the heart of all of this.

It partly hid itself behind a tree but he could see the light of the sun reflecting against its body. He watched it and it watched him, his eyes growing hard as he gripped the blade and prepared himself, whatever this thing would do he was ready. He tried to hear for his fellow hunters but couldn't tell if they could see and hear this creature, the noise drowning out everything. But he hoped they would at least notice his body language.

"Your people are alive" it said in a grainy, distorted voice that turned his blood to ice. "Arvok, Neytiri, west go west" it spoke against as it backed away into the forest, but before it could slink away into the shadows an arrow struck it, piercing it all the way through an imbedding itself in the ground beside it. The beast sputtered and spun in its death throes, releasing a pained warbling cry before it slammed into the side of a tree and exploded in a plume of fire and putrid smoke.

Before the last bits of its shell hit the ground he quickly retreated back to the safety of the trees to be greeted by Maru and Takuk, their bows still drawn. He was about to thank them but immediately noticed their bows weren't leveled at the formally floating creature, instead they were pointing to another tree where a lone figure was walking along a branch.

They had no weapon, their empty hands half stretched to their sides. And though he could tell instantly he was one of the people as the strangers face was revealed the grip on Neytiri's dagger grew tight again.

His eyes were hard as stone, with the signs of wrinkled skin around them to denote his age. His posture was calm, shoulders back and draped with braided hair, he wore a skinned viperwolf whose upper jaw and skull acted as a headdress that only added to the intimidation.

"Peace children, I am Tan Jala" he said, stopping a respectful distance from the duo of arrows pointed at him.

The hair on all three stood on end as they heard the name, it was one known to many. He was the greatest hunter of the Tipani clan, a clan well known to the Omaticaya.

"What are you doing here" Takuk questioned, it was rare whenever a Na'vi from another tribe would enter another's territory without invitation.

"I am here for the same reason you are, I saw the blue stars fall from the sky and land here." He answered, lowering his hands but keeping his apparent composure.

Blue stars?

"What are you talking about" Maru asked, her voice harsh and accusatory.

At that Tan Jala simply pointed to the loud hole and the strange creatures within.

"They came with the stars, they have been digging for hours but I don't know why." He continued as Tsu'tey felt as though his heart had stopped.

"We need to warn the Olo'eyktan now" Tsu'tey said, they needed to warn the Omaticaya "Takuk go back to the people, I'm going west".

"West, what's west of here" Takuk questioned; baffled by Tsu'tey's sudden declaration and while his bow, still trained on the Tipani he could see that his determination was waning.

"It was what I and Arvok had seen" he said, his throat growing dry and tight. "And it spoke in the language of the people".

That got everyone's attention and Tan Jala seemed particularly interested.

"What did it say" the Tipani questioned his old voice peppered with curiosity.

"It said Arvok and Neytiri are alive and to go west."

"I saw another place these creatures set down west of here. But they were not digging, they were… stacking stones" he said and the revelation that only served to fuel their ire.

"I'm going now" Tsu'tey said, not willing to wait any longer.

"I'm going with you" Maru said to Tsu'tey, and he was not about to waste time arguing.

"And what about him" Takuk asked as attention was momentarily placed back on the Tipani.

"I shall return back to my people, what happens then I leave to my Olo'eyktan" he said plainly as he turned and walked away.

"Stay safe children, for the future has grown uncertain"

Tsu'tey did not bother to watch him leave as the trio departed back to their banshees and took off into the sky.

Tsu'tey gave one last look to Takuk as he sped off to home tree and prayed that he would arrive quickly. Looking west he could just make out another patch of death on the horizon and he swore that he would get them out of there no matter what.


"Three banshees are flying here as we speak" Zao explained placing the Fajat back inside his clothing and putting his hands back behind his back, seemingly taking the news without much fanfare.

"We will take you to a large open place so that they can see you, and I would ask that you tell your tribesmen not to attack us." he advised, and Arvok could imagine what would happen if they did.

"Also, I would like for you to deliver a message."

"What message" Arvok asked, anticipation filling him.

"That I wish to speak with your leader and I shall be coming to your village when the sun sets" he answered as he motioned for everyone to follow him out.

Arvok could only nod; the grim knowledge of what was to come. The very thing he had tried to stop was happening anyway. The sense of defeat slamming into him as he helped Neytiri walk out of this place and out back into the open air. As they left the chamber he noticed the two other large humans that were not their before when he had entered. His eyes focusing on their weapons before he pulled them away.

Zao led the group to a large flat plain that stretched out to the same strange walls of dry water; and beyond them the safe, familiar sight of the forest. Hearing footsteps he turned his head to see another human walking to deliver something very familiar to him and Neytiri.

It was their bows and along with it Arvok's clothes. The human with outstretched arms offered them back to which they both accepted. Neytiri was quick to grab her bow and he feared for a moment that after all this she would still try to attack them. But thankfully she did not and was only responded by a hard stare by all humans that had a weapon.

Arvok too took his weapon and clothes back, a small feeling of relief filling him as the ordinary back in his hands.

"Thank you" he said, thankful they had did not simply take them.

"You're welcome and I hope you can understand us not giving back your arrows" he said as the humans began to walk away "I look forward to seeing you again Arvok." He said as the group of humans began to walk back to their structures of stone.

As soon as the humans were gone he saw Neytiri rip the object from her ear and toss it to the floor, hissing as her ear flicked in irritation of having the foreign thing inside. At that Arvok had had enough.

"What was that" he hissed at her, his anger finally boiling over and having no intention of stopping.

"What? as if I would keep a thing given by demons. Come here, let me get yours out" he said, not seeming to even register as she tried to reach for his ear. Arvok instinctively pulled back anger flaring as she looked at him in confusion.

"Could you have made any more difficult than you did" he nearly screamed, all the muscles in his neck and face tensing to the breaking point.

"I will not remain silent like some disobedient child" she bit back her eyes looking at him as if he was the one who had lost his mind.

"What did I ask? WHAT DID I ASK!?" he roared, wanting nothing more than to smack the sense back into her.

"I asked you, begged you to be patient and what did you do. You try to attack them, you killed one of them!" he screamed.

"THEY ARE DEMONS! They are not welcome here and that demon's death was the only thing that should happen to those that break Eywa's laws" she roared back, her shock now turning to anger as well but Arvok was not having it.

"And now because of your stupidity, I have consigned myself to death, FOR YOU!" he railed.

At that insult, Neytiri began to glow in purple light a look of anger refueling her as Arvok did the same. Like two roaring fires they stared at each other, their powers flaring with their emotions as they stared daggers into each other.

"If you had done that to anyone else, any other tribe; The Olangi, The Tyrangi or Eywa forbid the Tipani! You would be dead on a spear, your head left to hang and as I'm trying to get us out of there and figure out why they're here all you decide to do is goad them. Why has your sense abandoned you, where is the calm and collected huntress I thought I knew" he growled through gritted teeth.

"Do you have any idea how afraid I was for you; the idea that I would never see you again and worse, that you would die because of Me." he said; his anger finally fading and leaving him with only truth behind it.

The silence was tense after he finished. And all the while he watched as the reality of her actions hit her.

"I… I'm sor" she tried to say but was cut off by Arvok with a hand.

"I don't want your apologies" he said, looking her hard in the eyes.

"Because of you, my life is forfeit. And all to protect you so if you wish to apologize do this" he said as he got up face to face with her.

"Never act without thinking again" he whispered, staring into her eyes to make certain she would remember this.

They stood there until Neytiri looked away and they began to hear the distinct sound of flapping wings. Pulling their attention to the sky they could see dark splotches against the bright light of the sun getting larger.

"Arvok, Neytiri!" he heard a familiar voice yell and from the sky came the forms of Tsu'tey, Maru and Seze. They circled around them as their banshees shrieked at the unfamiliar surroundings. They landed hard and fast, their mounts kicking up dust with their wings.

The pair didn't wait for an invitation as leaped onto Seze and quickly regained flight. They flew and flew hard away from that place and did not speak till it was far on the horizon. Only then did Tsu'tey come to the pair, his eyes filled with relieved happiness.

But he could see from their faces that they were not. And so they stayed silent all the way back with only the light murmurings of reunion between Neytiri and Seze.

While Arvok could only think of the message he was given and the dark and bloody future that was to come.


Location: Hell's Gate

"Well that was certainly enlightening" Anthony said sarcastically, though it was completely without mirth as he finished his report of their conversation with their alien host. The mood had certainly darkened as they all gathered in main complex's command center, the large hologram of the surrounding area showing in real time their former guests.

Besides all those that were with the aliens, there was now Strong who in his massive armor, was forced to stand as he let his arms rest across his body and watched the hologram with particular interest. Besides him there was Selfridge as well who in his button up shirt and tie looked out of place when compared to all those around him.

Zao watched them as they flew away; back towards their tree, their home and with all he had heard had made his purpose here infinitely harder.

"Still don't know why you let them go" Strong said, his guttural voice echoing in the room.

"Taking them captive would have only served to anger them" he answered which Strong answered back with a grimace. "Besides, if what Arvok said was true then releasing the primal princess will only help in negotiations.

"That little princess killed one of my men" he growled.

"Indeed, the strength of their arrows is beyond anything we could have predicted. Even with the new shielding it only saved him from the arrow itself" Anthony said as pulled up a new image on the holo-table, showing the image of the arrow in question.

"What's that supposed to mean" Strong demanded as all eyes turned to the new image on the table.

"The armor itself did its job, it still penetrated but that alone would not have killed him if it wasn't for this" he continued as the image focused on a substance that had coated the stone of the arrow head.

"When we examined the armor we found this strange fluid on both it and the arrowhead itself. And when we analyzed it we discovered it to be some form of neurotoxin" he finished.

At that no one was overly surprised as the usage of poisoned weapons in combat was not an uncommon thing. The Ionic sisters themselves used weapons that were designed to inflict radiation poisoning.

But at that revelation Zao saw as the anger on Strong's face melted away into a pleasant acceptance as a slight smile crossed his face.

"Well at least she's smart"

"How does that make it any better" Grace argued, seeming to have more care for his men than he did.

"First; Must I tell you that we are Meta humans, dying of old age ain't in the cards for us and when you live for so long you come to accept that your end will not be peaceful or painless. I did not thing I had to tell a Necro that" he explained but continued before she could get a word in.

"Second; to die to a fool is shameful, if these aliens have enough brains to use everything at their disposal against us, than I can only respect them" he said, showing for all to see his thought process.

"Lastly; my men volunteered for this. They were not some half brained conscript with barely a month of training. They knew the risks of coming and I will not have you dishonor their memory by mourning their death as some poor, unfortunate event" he finished with absolute conviction silencing the Necro.

"Regardless of Philosophy, we should return to the matter at hand" Zao said, trying to bring the conversation back into focus.

"Indeed, we should begin by talking about that strange power of theirs" Anthony said pulling up a new video of last night's battle. In it they saw the recording of those strange dog like creatures attacking their troops. And they watched as a creature began to glow with purple light before hitting the soldiers.

The recording picked back up with the Meta human shock troops as they tore their way through the wolf creatures. The camera then shifted high to see the bright outline of the woman snarling at the soldier where the footage then stopped.

"Wynne, they said this 'vitra-tswal' came from their souls did you…" he said was Wynne shook her head.

"No; I sensed no higher level of Heka in them than I would the average person. Whatever power it is the beings of this planet use it has nothing to do with matters of the soul" she announced.

"So he lied to us" Zao asked, pained but surprised by the news. If he had been in his position he would have lied to.

"Or they simply do not know either. They did say this power came from their God"

"Yes that Eywa goddess the woman spoke of. It was rather odd how she reacted to idea of other gods" But there were a few other things that surprised me as well." Grace said, resting her elbows on the table.

"Such as" Zao asked, at this point he was ready to hear any idea's though from her lack of knowledge on the more classified portions of this mission he did not have high hopes.

"In most primitive societies they are almost without fail polytheistic with different gods being responsible for different aspects of the natural world; storms, seasons, the sky… radiation" she said letting that last example sink in, though neither Sullivan nor Ophelia rouse to the obvious barbed comment.

"The list goes on, but she was adamant that this Eywa was the only god which speaks to a monotheistic belief system, and a strictly enforced one at that" she continued.

"So; mono, poly whatever what difference does it make what these primitives believe" Selfridge piped up and was immediately set upon by three pairs of eyes that drilled into him though for two very different reasons.

"The difference is that amongst all religions, mono and polytheistic there are a set of moral guidelines ordained by the gods for how people are supposed to behave and there is a striking level of commonality of these laws regardless of culture and geography. Do not kill unjustly, do not steal, honor your parents, and don't fuck your neighbor's wife. The list goes on but their laws… there seems to be no morals involved, no lessons or commandments for how they should behave. Just three strange laws that don't make any sense" she finished tapping her fingers against the edge of the table in annoyance, like trying to finish a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.

Zao looked to Anthony and Sullivan and he could tell they were all thinking the same thing. They had kept the knowledge of the 'entity' to themselves but in that moment he wondered if he should tell her.

After a moment he decided against it, he did not trust her and he did not fully understand the capabilities of this entity. He would not create more possible gaps this thing could use to gain information on them. Not even mentioning her unexplained hatred of himself, which could lead to a whole host of issues further down the line.

"And from the laws you said they had, it makes a peaceful exchange all but impossible" Selfridge said, and this time there was no dispute.

"That is not entirely correct" A synthetic voice said as the image of ELMA erupted from the holotable.

"I, under Zao's instruction have been sifting through the natives memories and have come across something that might be useful" she said with a small smile.

"What did you find" Zao asked as all ears turned to the AI.

"First blood"