Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter forty-four of "Gone in the Dark." This fic is getting closer to the end. I am sad for that to happen, but it must. I still haven't thought of a title for the possible sequel yet. Stay tuned for chapter forty-five.

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Chapter 44: Now Awake/Attempted Uprising

Clouds covered half the midafternoon sky above Awa'atlu. The sun came out from behind a large cloud. Jake stood out on the pier of the marui Neytiri was in. He felt a gentle wind go through his hair. This made it move forward a little bit. He went inside with a soft sigh. He approached the chair and sat down. He folded his hands before placing his elbows on his knees. He laid his head on top of them. His ears perked up at the sound of the heart monitor's beeping.

Jake tightened his hands somewhat. He recalled Max telling him he was getting ready to head back to High Camp to get the medical supplies. He saw him off along with Spider, Lo'ak, and Kiri. He hoped his friend would return very soon. He was grateful for Ronal and Mo'at's medicine helping to treat intense pain. He knew he would never like their taste, but he admired how powerful they were. He helped Mo'at treat two young Metkayina women that were brought in with minor injuries not too long ago.

His thoughts shifted to Lo'ak and Tsireya. He enjoyed hearing them talk about the seashells Kiki and Kipling showed them. He thought seashell hunting was the perfect way to keep the toddlers distracted as they did not have to deal with seeing severe injuries on patients. He had little doubt that the older children would have nightmares of the carnage they saw, especially Tuktiery. He couldn't forget she looked about ready to run out of the marui after seeing her mother in her condition.

He started thinking about Ronal. He remembered having a chat with her not too long ago about her and Neytiri being so much alike. She revealed to him she had never liked being left out of the action. This included when it came to hunting. He thought hunting and fighting while pregnant were very dangerous, as did Tonowari. However, they knew it was best not to argue with their mates about that.

Jake inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He glanced downward and closed his eyes, not realizing Neytiri's hand was beginning to move. She emitted a soft gasp as she squeezed hers shut more tightly. She blinked twice before opening them slowly. She saw blurry vision. She shuddered while blinking them multiple times to clear them. She looked at him, her heart skipping a few beats.

"Jake?" Neytiri whispered and moved her hand slightly. "Jake…"

Jake moved his head upward and opened his eyes. He gasped shockingly while taking his mate's hand into his. He gave it a tight squeeze, tears forming in his eyes. He slid her arm around her head carefully. He pressed his forehead against hers. He pulled back to look at her, the tears sliding down his cheeks. Some merged with each other.

"Neytiri, I am so glad you are awake," he said, sniffling. "How do you feel?"

"I feel really lousy," she admitted. "The last thing I remember was trying to speak to Ronal."

"If you want to know about her, her wound is looking good. She will need to use a staff your mother gave her for a week or two," Jake explained gently.

"Oh. Where are the kids?" Neytiri asked.

"They are helping tend to the patients with the exception of Tuk. She is keeping an eye on Kiki and Kipling as always," Jake responded, a heavy sigh leaving his mouth. "Unfortunately—"

"What, Jake?" Neytiri said, becoming a little scared. "What's going on?"

He bit his lip. "It's Rishi. She—"

She furrowed her brow. "What? What happened to her?"

Jake looked away. He wasn't sure if he could tell Neytiri about what happened to Rishi. However, he knew she needed to know. He decided not to put it off. He turned back to her.

"Our kids and their friends were attacked by Green Spears at Three Brothers while you, Ronal, and the search party were looking for Dila. Rishi was killed while protecting Rotxo," Jake commented sadly. He felt his lower lip quiver. "We laid her to rest last night."

Neytiri gasped rather horrifyingly. She let out a choked sob and looked away. She placed her other hand over her face. She started crying, tears falling from her eyes. She curled her hand into a fist and hit it against the blanket in frustration. She turned back to Jake, who had tears in his eyes.

"Why Rishi, Jake?" Neytiri cried. "Why her?"

"She was at the wrong place at the wrong time," Jake admitted with a sniffle. "The other kids did not suffer any injuries."

"I want kill to Nekx!" Neytiri said, much anger showing in her voice. "I want to kill him! He is responsible for this. His clanmates followed his order to go after—"

"They did follow that order to attack their enemies within sight, but he did not tell them to attack any children. They made the decision to do that on their own," Jake interrupted. "Besides, you have something else to worry about right now."

"What do you mean?" Neytiri demanded. "Tell me."

"You're five weeks pregnant with twins," Jake responded in a firm voice. "Norm discovered it while checking your blood for infection."

Neytiri emitted a shocked gasp. She wondered if she heard wrong. She took a closer look at Jake and realized he was telling the truth. She moved her hand down to her abdomen. She stopped it over her womb. She shifted her attention toward the latter.

"I never thought I would be pregnant for the fifth time. I had accepted I would possibly never carry another child again," Neytiri muttered, a sob rising in her throat. "Eywa wanted me to have more. I wasn't expecting twins, though."

"It's a miracle. I tell you," Jake said, smiling softly. "This pregnancy will be riskier than the last one involving twins since you are of advanced maternal age."

"I am aware," Neytiri admitted. "I will—"

Just then, Tonowari and Spider came into the marui. Jake looked toward them, his ears perking up. He rose to his feet. Neytiri turned toward them, her breathing coming out in shudders.

"Dad, Lo'ak was—Mom, you are awake!" Spider blurted out happily.

"Spider!" Neytiri responded, sniffling as Jake moved aside in which it allowed the duo to come to her. She touched the boy's head in a very gentle way. "How are you?"

"I am fine," Spider said, laughing softly. "We didn't think you'd wake up for a while. Do you feel—"

"Lousy?" Neytiri finished. "I do. I think I will be feeling that way for some time."

Tonowari pressed his lips together. "You looked horrible when you were brought in. It terrified us."

"I remember being stabbed in the side by this Green Spear man," Neytiri whispered, swallowing hard. "I tried to fight him off, but I couldn't and screamed each time he stabbed me. Then Ronal tackled him. I heard her cry out in pain. I knew she had been stabbed. I heard sounds of fighting and yelling. I found it a little hard to breathe."

"You are really lucky your attacker's dagger did not go near your womb," Jake said in relief.

Spider snorted. "Yes—"

Suddenly, a young Metkayina woman rushed into the marui. She skidded to a halt, panting heavily. She touched her legs and leaned down. She managed to catch her breath. She returned to her full height. Jake and Tonowari went to her.

"Olo'eytkan, a group of warriors have returned home! They reported the Green Spears are coming toward our shores!" the woman cried.

"How far are they from here?" Jake asked.

"Just a couple of miles," the woman responded in a frantic voice.

"Oh, shit!" Jake yelled alarmingly.

Tonowari growled. "Tell the lookout to sound the alarm now!"

Jake looked at Spider. "Spider, you stay with your mother."

Tonowari, Jake, and the woman raced out of the marui. The men went left while she headed right. Aonung was coming across the bridge when his father and his friend passed him quickly. He looked over his shoulder at them.

"Dad, Jake, what the hell is going on?" Aonung yelled.

"The village is about to be invaded, Aonung!" Jake called as he and Tonowari peered over their shoulders at him.

"Get to our marui now!" Tonowari ordered. "Let your mother know!"

"Yes, sir," Aonung said with a nod. He focused his attention on the area in front of him. He began running away with his hands curled into fists. "Okay."

Tonowari and Jake looked ahead. They reached the end of the bridge and jumped onto the beach. The horn echoed throughout the village. They raced to the shoreline and shouted inaudible words to the Metkayina in the water. Their clanmates raced for their marui, whoops coming from them. The men went their separate ways. Tsireya walked along the shoreline, her heart racing somewhat. She screamed when Julay grabbed her from behind. Julay wrapped her arms around her body. Tsireya struggled to get free, but she couldn't.

"Let go of me!" Tsireya cried.

"Not a chance, bitch!" Julay snarled. "We Green Spears are taking over this village!"

Tsireya screamed again, alerting her father. Tonowari spotted her and ran toward her, only to be knocked on his knees by two young Green Spear women ramming themselves into him. The first woman grabbed him by his hair and jerked his head back. He screamed in pain. Tsireya was freed from Julay's grasp when Lo'ak wrapped his arm around her throat and pulled her away.

"How dare you grab my girlfriend like that, bitch!" Lo'ak hissed. "You will—"

Julay elbowed Lo'ak in the stomach, freeing herself. She turned around to punch him in the face. She grabbed his throat to choke him. He kicked her in the stomach to break out of her grasp. He clasped his hands together. He swung them upward, nailing her in the chin. She stumbled backward, but she recovered quickly. She backhanded him across the cheek. She let out a malicious laugh.

"Nice try, you freak!" Julay yelled fiercely. "You will pay—"

Without warning, Riri punched the woman in the stomach. She let out a loud snarl and took hold of her hair. She jerked her head back, causing her to cry out in agony. Julay jammed her thumbs into her eyes. Riri screamed agonizingly while losing her grip on her. She rubbed at them frantically. A young Green Spear man tackled her to the sand with a yell. He proceeded to land punch after punch on her.

Jake grabbed the woman holding Tonowari and pulled her away from him. He slapped her across the cheek, making her head snap to the side. He gave her two punches to the stomach. He was smacked in the face by the other woman's dagger hilt. Her companion swung her arm at his feet, tripping him. He ended up on his back. She got on top of him. She took hold of his throat and proceeded to choke him. She laughed evilly as he grabbed her wrists. She flared her nostrils before licking her lips.

"Toruk Makto is all choked up!" the first woman said.

"He will be—" the second woman started.

Suddenly, Rotxo tackled the first woman to the sand. Jake took in a huge breath of air and began panting heavily. Rotxo punched her in the face multiple times. He yelled as if he were a maniac. He was knocked off her with by the second woman's swinging her dagger hilt at his face. She sheathed it quickly. Two young Green Spears took hold of him and forced him to his feet. She proceeded to punch him in the stomach.

"Stop this right now!" a male voice shouted.

Everyone stopped where he or she was and looked up to see Nekx, who stood near the shoreline. He walked to the fighting group, his breathing soft and steady. The Green Spears released their holds on their enemies. Jake, Tonowari, Rotxo, and Riri panted hard while getting up along with them. Lo'ak and Tsireya came to Nekx's side.

"It is time to end this madness," Nekx said in a fierce voice.

"Nekx, you are crazy!" Julay screeched.

"I am not, Julay," Nekx retorted with a glare. "I can't believe you! You started a revolt after being ordered by our leaders not to if we ended up here!"

"I had to, sir," Julay insisted.

"This is a great opportunity for us to take over the village," the first woman added.

"This will secure victory for our clan," the second woman added.

"It's not going to happen," Nekx said, shaking his head. "I am telling you right now. This war is over."

"You can't be serious, sir!" the first man yelled.

"I am serious," Nekx responded, looking at him. "All this fighting has caused misery for both sides. We've gone against the tulkun way. We are not supposed to kill, except for food or in self-defense."

"The Metkayina restarted our rivalry by clashing with our hunters!" the second man said. "We had to go to war to settle this!"

"Yes!" the third man agreed.

"It does not matter who restarted the rivalry," Nekx said, looking around with a hiss. "I thought I was doing the right thing myself until I saw the grisly sights of war up close. Keye'txon told me he was tired of fighting. One of my own killed Rishi as she tried to protect Rotxo. Another tried to kill Neytiri while she was helping to look for Dila. She is in a coma and may not survive. How can anyone deprive that girl of her life and Lo'ak, Spider, Kiri, and Tuk of their mother?"

The Green Spears lowered their ears in shame, except for Julay. Nekx swung his tail from side to side. Tonowari and Jake felt their hearts skip a beat or two. So did their children, Roxto, and Riri.

"Julay, I want you and all the able-bodied Green Spears with the exception of the women here to head out to sea and tell them to pull back to our village. Let our olo'eytkan know that I am ready to talk with Tonowari as long as he is," Nekx explained.

"But we are winning, Nekx!" Julay insisted.

"Both sides lost a long time ago," Nekx said, glancing at her. "We have become what we said we wouldn't. Now, get going."

"But—" Julay started.

"That is an order," Nekx interrupted sharply. "The war is over. I want to negotiate with the Metkayina. You are in big trouble once all this is settled, Julay. I mean it."

Julay huffed and headed down the beach along with the men. The women went in another direction. Tonowari, Jake, Rotxo, and Riri went to Nekx, who emitted a sharp exhale.

"You did the right thing declaring this war over," Rotxo said in relief.

"Someone had to," Nekx said. "All this fighting is pointless. Before my ambush on Jake and Neytiri, I had no regret about attacking any Metkayina. I realized I needed to think of the innocents who were suffering. Kids should not know bloodshed."

"No child of any moralistic species should. I should tell you that Neytiri is actually awake," Jake commented.

"That's good," Riri said, happiness radiating from her face.

Lo'ak touched his throat. "Thank Eywa that happened. We have suffered so much throughout this war. There is bound to be more with the humans still causing trouble."

Nekx emitted a soft sigh. "We can worry about that another time. Right now, I am focusing on getting things resolved."

Tsireya went to Nekx and gave him a big hug. He chuckled and hugged her back. He rubbed her shoulder in a gentle manner. They released their hold on each other and pulled away.

"Thank you for stopping the fighting," Tsireya said.

"You are welcome, Tsireya," Nekx responded warmly. "You kids deserve a bright future."

Tonowari cleared his throat. "We better alert the warriors that the war is over."

Nekx nodded in agreement. He and the others went down the beach, their ears swiveling and their tails swinging from side to side.