KAEYLA TE KATHAN SAEYLA'ITE.

PART 19.

THE HELL'S GATE

Back in the other parts of the forest while Lo'ak, Kai'ani, Spider, Kiri, Tuk and Satka were having fun with each other elsewhere, Neteyam and Kaeyla were still making their way with the former's lead through the forest and towards the Hell's Gate.

Soon enough, the two eventually arrived to where the forest started to thin out and the light began to come more freely through between the trees and the jungle vegetation.

And then Neteyam and Kaeyla found themselves standing before a huge metallic Sky-People-made fence, which was breached through and taken down, and covered with the jungle foliage, with one MBS-22A Automated Sentry Gun detached from nearby defense tower lying wrecked nearby.

Neteyam and Kaeyla stepped through of the breach and into the vast open field, where Kaeyla could feel in the bottom of her feet the soft jungle floor switching into a stone-hard surface.

"Welcome to the Hell's Gate, Kaeyla." Neteyam said as he waved his hand forward at the human base.

Kaeyla had never seen the infamous Sky People place called the "Hell's Gate" before... until now. The first thought about it came in the form of the stories her father had used to tell him and Kai'ani when they were much younger.

And they were not quite pleasant stories.

"A large spot of the forest having been cleared up from anything connected to Eywa and turned into the foul fortress full of Sky People whose numbers kept growing every time a huge metallic beast descended from the skies to bring more of them. It was like a source of disease, around which the forest became sick, withered and died as the number of Sky People increased like germs. A huge forest of towers made of metal rose over the base and befouled the air with the thick black smoke. It was surrounded by the tall transparent metal wall that was mounted with the self-acting Sky People weapons that will cut down anything and anyone that got too close of it. It's the nest of the monsters under Sky People's controll: massive ground-bound metal monsters with the unstoppable power to wreak vast havoc in the forest and turn their earth upside down, along with the air-bound two-winged metal creatures, including even larger and tougher four-winged beasts, that swarm in the air like an angry swarm of zize, and rain down a deadly fire, and a ground-bound small but tought metal beasts riden by demons which deflect their arrows and spears and cannot be taken down easily on close combat. The Sky People had used these monsters to destroy their secret site of Tree of Souls and bring down their ancestral home the Hometree, and nearly slaughtered all the fifteen clans into extinction during the Great War."

However, when Kaeyla laid her eyes on the human base, it looked much, much more different from what she had heard.

There were no any ground- or air-bound Sky People's metal monsters in sight - apart from a few ones standing in the middle of a large open stone-floored area - and while there indeed were a huge trees made of metal, which her father had told would befoul the air with the thick black smoke, there were no smoke at all and the sky above the base was almost completely clear - except for a few thin columns of smoke - and there were not that much of Sky People at sight like her father had described, making the whole base to look like a completely abandoned - though here and there she could see a few Sky People walking outside of their buildings. Also, the jungle was apparently allowed to consume the entire base, with roots and plants growing around and over the buildings everywhere, likely due to a lack of maintenance because of the fewer number of humans.

"It's nothing like my dad had described it." Kaeyla said in wonderment and confusion.

"Well, it used to be once exactly like your dad and my dad had described it to us, until the "friendly" Sky People decided to turn their backs on their own and take it over for us." Neteyam explained simply. "And now, they have rather allowed the forest to reclaim what was once hers to show us that they can live alongside us, the forest, and the Great Mother herself in peace and harmony."

Kaeyla gulped nervously as she stared at the human base, feeling quite uncomfortable at the thought of going into an unknown territory - even though the Hell's Gate technically was part of Omatikaya's territory - especially one whose inhabitants were once enemies of her people, and who preferred to destroy the forest, their homes, their holy places, and literally everything they loved and respected just to satisfy their ravenous lust.

"Are you sure that these Sky People are trustworthy, Neteyam? They have no any of their huge and destructive monsters with them anymore, have they?" Kaeyla asked.

"My dad trusts these people... or at least some of them he has a close connections with. Uncle Norm... Maxpatel... Wuminxia... Joshwinslow... Megelkins... Katherinehale, I think." Neteyam assured.

"Katherinehale?" Kaeyla questioned, surprised to hear that name. "I've heard that name from my dad. He said that he doesn't like particularly that Sky Person, let alone trust him, or at least not fully."

"I know about the trust issues between her and your dad from what I've heard from my dad. I guess they root from her responsibilities and the difficulties to look after the remaining Sky People without upsetting our own to the point of causing the tensions and conflicts, and your dad's wariness of her methods to take care of her people that could be potentionally harmful to the forest." Neteyam said. "But my father has a connection with her too nonetheless, which is build upon a mutual respect, because they are both leaders of our respective peoples and they understand very well the trust issues and tensions between us and the challenges they face in looking after our own."

"Well, I do hope that your dad's connections with some of them helps to keep the rest of them under check." Kaeyla hoped unsurely.

"Well then..." Neteyam said as he casually took a few steps forward towards the base, before turning back to Kaeyla. "... I guess it's time for you to get to know some of them more closely. Follow me." he said, beckoning her to follow him.

Kaeyla vas still pretty nervous to go out of the protection of the forest and into the Sky People turf, but she trusted Neteyam enough to lead the way around here before she hesitatingly followed him to the vast open area, which used to be once the landing area for the Sky People's flying metal beasts.

"Have you been hete before, Neteyam?" Kaeyla asked rhetorically. It was already obvious that Neteyam has been here in this place before, but she just wanted to be sure.

"Several times." Neteyam said. "I don't visit here as often these days as I used to because my parents usually handle the visits here."

"Then why we're here in the first place?" Kaeyla asked, confused.

"Because I want to show you something... and introduce you to some very nice humans my farther knows and I know." Neteyam said.

"But... I heard from my dad that some of our people have set the camp next to this place to keep an eye on these Sky People... by your dad's orders." Kaeyla pointed out. "If so, then why we come through one of the breaces instead of going in through the camp?"

"Because, right now, I do not wish either my parents or yours to know we have gone to visit here, for my parents don't really like us visiting here without their supervision, my mom particularly doesn't like that." Neteyam said. "And as firstborn son of Olo'eyktan, I am very important and thus very recognizable to whole clan. One look at me and whoever dad left in charge of the Hell's Gate's camp would most definitely report to him our presence here."

Neteyam then stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Kaeyla. "I don't usually go behind of my father's instructions, but I just want to show you this." he said before he continued onward, with Kaeyla following closely behind.

Neteyam and Kaeyla soon arrived to one of the doorways that led inside the base, where Neteyam politely opened the door and beckoned Kaeyla to enter first.

Kaeyla still felt uncomfortable to step into the human base, but thanks to the reassurance from Neteyam, she eventually did after some moment of hesitation, before Neteyam followed shortly afterwards and closed the door behind him.

Once inside the sealed off room, where there was a door in the other side, Kaeyla nearly jumped in alert when she heard a loud hissing sound around of them.

SSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"What was that?!" Kaeyla asked, mildly frightened.

Neteyam, however, put reassuringly his hand on Kaeyla's shoulder to calm her down.

"It's okay, Kaeyla." he told her. "It's just our air outside switching into their air inside."

Kaeyla, however, didn't seem convinced and some thought bothered her in her mind. "Dad says that the Sky People cannot come out because our air is unbreathable to them. How do we know theirs won't be unbreathable to us?"

"That thing works differently between us and the Sky People, for what I've seen during of my few visits in here." Neteyam explained. "While they can't last in our air more than, in their words, twenty seconds before they pass out and four minutes before they die, we can survive in their air for four hours, which is why we must obtain these Sky People's thingies called breathing masks to breathe our own air inside their facilities. The courtesy of uncle Norm."

"You mean, we need to use these things while injside here?" Kaeyla asked, pointing at the set of human-sized breathing masks hanging on the chamber's wall.

Neteyam, however, shook his head. "Breathing masks developed exclusively for us are waiting just outside this chamber, inside the base, I mean."

Once the chamber's air was fully switched to the air the humans used - with Kaeyla inhaling the human air for the first time, which tasted somewhat weirder than what their own air did - Neteyam opened the door and led them inside the facility.

True to Neteyam's words, there were several breathing masks awaiting for them. Neteyam took one of them and put it on without the problem, before he handed the one to Kaeyla.

Kaeyla looked at the breathing mask for a moment with some thought, before she followed his suit and put it on. She then tested it by putting the mask over her face and inhaled, feeling the taste of their own familiar air on her tongue, which reassured her of the safety of the usage of these a little.

"So... where you want to go first? The best parts of the base for us Na'vi to visit are either the labs or Avatar compound, for there are always like-minded people we're friends with." Neteyam told her.

"Well... maybe we should... actually... go see these "friends" first." Kaeyla suggested after giving it some thought.

Neteyam nodded. "Alright. Labs they are. And if we're lucky, Uncle Norm and Max will be there right at the moment."

Neteyam then led Kaeyla down of the corridor, and on their way, Kaeyla paid the look at the massive set of metal pipes of all sizes and shapes that covered the walls on both sides of the corridor and followed them to the same direction where they were going.

Neteyam could have led them a more direct route to the labs, but some of the corridors were heavily damaged during the Na'vi, Avatar and like-minded humans' takeover of the base during the Great War, leaving them beyond repair and use after their human allies and RDA loyallists armed scuffles within the base.

And so, Neteyam and Kaeyla were forced to take the shortcut... through the armor bay.

A massive hangar that once stored a large number - if not all - of the Sky People's aircraft and the ground vehicles used for the civilian transportation, deforestation, mining operations and military operations, as well as the Sky People's weaponry and the missiles, including AMP-suits, stood now mostly empty, housing now only a few aircraft that survived from the war and had been used now only for the peaceful civilian transportations. But even with the few, there was still people working on in maintaining their remaining aircraft's condition and readiness for the usage.

Neteyam and Kaeyla walked casually across the hangar and past of the many Sky People working in there who didn't pay much of attention to the pair, aside of keeping their distance and moving out of their way, which Kaeyla noticed.

"Weren't they supposed to be our friends and allies? They're like they don't even know we're here." Kaeyla questioned.

"They do, Kaeyla. They do." Neteyam corrected. "They just don't pay attention to us under their own business, and we're not here to say "I See You" to each and every one of them save for the ones in the labs."

"So much for the friendship, huh?" Kaeyla muttered sarcastically, making Neteyam shrug at her.

However, while talking to Neteyam, Kaeyla wasn't looking where she was going, and as she was about to turn around a corner, she accidentally bumped into a human in the lead of the trio of people who were walking around the same corner at the same time, knocking them both back.

"Ugh! Hey!" Kaeyla complained as she looked down at the human she had cumped into.

The human she had bumped into was a tall (though that meant nothing to her and Neteyam's standard) and he had a reddish hair and dark mustache, and he wore on him a bluish white shirt, orange pants and a gray and white striped jacket. However, the look on his face looked rather less friendly.

He was backed up by a two guys, one of which was a tall, bald and pretty muscular African-American man with the hardened frown on his own face, and he was dressed into a black shirt and orange pants. And the third and last guy was a blonde man who wore a greenish-gray shirt and orange pants. Neither of them looked even friendlier than the first one.

"Hey, blue! Watch where you're going!" the man snarled rudely in English.

Kaeyla stared at the human before her with the blank look on her face, for she was not good at English at all, and thus didn't know what he was saying... but only could assume from his attitude that the man wasn't the friendly one.

"I don't know that that meant, but this Sky Person doesn't sound pretty friendly." Kaeyla said to Neteyam, who nodded with the heavy sigh.

"Hey, McCosker? What's the deal with this sudden stop? I thought we were in hurry." the African-American man told to the human Kaeyla had bumped into, named McCosker.

"Well, guess why, Earl." McCosker said to the African-American man named Earl, before he turned to glare at Kaeyla. "This blue brat just came around the corner and bumped into me! What is her problem? Is she blind or what?"

"Well, maybe our air messes her brains so that the world's spinning before her eyes." the blonde man remarked rudely, making both Earl and McCosker scoff in mocking laughter.

Kaeyla didn't know what they were talking about, but one could only surmise from their attitude, and how their nasty glances were directed at her, that they spoke something mean of her.

Neteyam, in the other hand, knew what they were talking about and narrowed his eyes angrily and clenched his hands into fists.

However, keeping his cool, the son of Olo'eyktan stepped forward to address the three humans with authoritative attitude of his own.

"Back off, McCosker! All of you! She's with me!" Neteyam said to them sharply, using English.

McCosker, Earl and the Blonde turned to Neteyam, and upon recognizing him on instant, their mean attitude towards Kaeyla changed immediately in the presence of the son of Olo'eyktan, over whom they had no authority whatsoever (for even if they lay a finger on the prince and the heir of Omatikaya clan, their heads would be forfeited), and backed off.

However, though Kaeyla noticed that even if Neteyam's authoritative attitude and his high ranks and titles in the Omatikaya clan made the human trio to back down, there was still some tension and even mild antagonism between him and this McCosker.

"Oh, it's you. The son of the chief of the blues." McCosker spat. "Why are you here, and why did you bring HER here? Last time I knew, your daddy and mommy didn't want you to come here without them, and yet I don't see anyone of them here right now."

"Would be the best that they wouldn't come here at all." Earl added in whisper.

"That's none of your business to worry about, McCosker." Neteyam said back sharply, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now go! All of you! And leave us be."

However, McCosker scoffed at this. "I don't take orders from the prince of the blue monkeys, no matter how high-ranked he is amongst his own."

McCosker then pointed to the floor beneath their feet. "This where you and your adorable little girlfriend are standing right now, is the human turf, and the human turf only, where we can do whatever we want, while YOU... all of you... are unwanted here!" he declared defiantly.

"You said it, Nash! My man!" Earl agreed, patting his friend's shoulder encouragingly.

"Hear, hear!" the Blonde let out, voicing his support for McCosker.

Almost every single person in the entire hangar had stopped what they were doing and were witnessing the scene unfolding in front of them. All of them had the mixed thoughts about what McCosker had just declared: some of them were most likely agreeing with him that they did not want Na'vi here on their turf just like they don't want them to theirs, while some of them were like-minded with the Na'vi and strongly believed that they can share and co-exist in peace with each other instead of picking up the fight with Na'vi like McCosker with his friends did every time when they were visiting at the Hell's Gate.

"So, it's you two who should get going... out of here... out of our base... right now!" McCosker demanded.

"We will go..." Neteyam said almost as soon as McCosker had finished, making him to look at him with the raised eyebrow in mild-surprise. "But only if the one in charge here tells us to do so, and you're not in charge in here, McCosker. And that's why I do not take orders from you. And if you want it your way, then call your Olo'eykte here and make her to kick us out of here if you can."

McCosker was about to say something in back, until a new femine voice interrupted the heated argumenmt, making everyone in the presence to turn torwards it.

"No need for that, son. Our... "Olo'eykte"... is right here." the voice said, which belonged to the red-haired stoic-faced woman wearing the red jacked, who stared at McCosker and his friends with the disapproval frown on her face.

"Katherinehale." Neteyam addressed, greeting her in Na'vi way. "I See You."

The woman, named Katherine Hale, returned to the greeting in kind. "I See You, Neteyam."

Katherine then turned to to McCosker and his friends. "No, what is all of this commotion about?"

McCosker immediately pointed at Kaeyla with the accusing finger. "That blue right over there deliberately bumped in me around the corner!"

"It was an accident on her part ... but you and your friends started acting mean to her because of it. And how do we know you weren't the one who wasn't looking where you were going." Neteyam said in Kaeyla's defense.

"You're sifting the blame on me, boy?!" McCosker spat angrily at Neteyam, but was immediately cut short by Katherine.

"Is this true?" Katherine asked as she pondered over the two versions of the story.

"Yes!/No!" both Neteyam and McCosker said at the same time.

This caused both Neteyam and McCosker to turn each other, though Neteyam gave him only a light frown, McCosker gave him a burning glare.

Katherine then turned towards Kaeyla to addredd her directly. "What about you then? What's your version of this?"

However, all she got from Kaeyla was a confused frown, as she did not understood her. "What she's saying?" Kaeyla asked from Neteyam, turning to him for his help in translating Katherine's words for her.

"She doesn't know English?" Katherine asked from Neteyam with the raised brow.

"No. Sorry about that. She hasn't been taught English. Something what her father hasn't appreciated." Neteyam apologized, before he turned back to Kaeyla to tell her what Katherine had been trying to ask from her, translating her words to her in Na'vi.

Katherine, McCosker and his friends waited patiently - though not so patiently in McCopsker's and his friends case - as Kaeyla said something to Neteyam privately.

Neteyam then turned back to the humans. "She admits that she wasn't looking where she was going and wants to apologize for bumping into McCosker, but won't do it if they don't apologize first for whatever mean things they said about her as she so assumes."

"I have nothing to apologize!" McCosker stubbornly protested.

"I think that you do, Nash." Katherine stated sternly, giving him a look.

McCosker stared at Katherine with dumbfounded look on his face, unable to believe what he was hearing coming from the mouth of his superior and the fellow human.

"Are you siding with these blues against your own species?!" he exclaimed, outraged.

"First of, keeping the peace between of us and Na'vi is my job as much as it is your father's, Neteyam. Secondly, I might not be the scientist, but I've heard that there is no word for the "lie" in Na'vi's language and they very unlikely ever even lie unlike us humans do all of time. And thirdly, I'm gonna have to lower your next rations if you don't apologize to the miss..." Katherine lectured, until she was cut short when she realized that she didn't know Kaeyla's name.

"Kaeyla te Kathan Saeyla'ite... or simply Kaeyla." Neteyam told her.

Katherine nodded her thanks for that to the son of Olo'eyktan before she continued. "As I was saying, And thirdly, I'm gonna have to lower your next rations if you don't apologize to the miss Kaeyla here."

McCosker blinked wide-eyed at Katherine, unable to believe what she's saying to him.

"You're threatening to lower my rations if I don't apologize myself to that little blue monkey?!" McCosker shouted. "Forget it!"

McCosker and his friends were just about to storm away without the other word, until Katherine called after them, raising her voice angrily.

Fine then! Let's see if skipping all you three's rations for a one day changes your mind. Or maybe even three days'." Katherine said.

This made the three men to stop walking and turn back to her. With McCosker once again unable to believe what he was hearing.

"After all, I'm the one who is directly responsible for the lasting of our already skippy groceries here, even if the occasional supplement deliveries from Na'vi manages to keep it somewhat stable. And I happen to know many guys that are way more starving than what you are, McCosker. They'd actually worship their extra rations I'm gonna give to them from your rations." Katherine said.

"But I got the family to feed?" McCosker protested.

"So do they." Katherine pointed out. "So don't make me to make you to watch your family starving while the others' eat well because of your pride. Just apologize Miss Kaeyla here and we can all forget about this."

McCosker grumbled, annoyed of being blackmailed into doing this, but not wishing to see his family starving, turned towards Neteyam and Kaeyla.

"Fine." he grumbled, before he reluctantly looked up at Kaeyla. The frown was still there, thought lightly softened one.

"Look... Miss... whatcha name was again, no matter... I'm sorry. Friends again?" McCosker said with the forced smile, even if his voice lacked pretty much the sincerity.

Kaeyla looked at him baffled and turned to Neteyam for translating, which he did, though not without whispering something in aftermath.

"Even if he didn't sound like he meant it." Neteyam said with low voice.

Kaeyle nodded in understantment, frowning in annoyance. However, she did not want to hold any grudges, even if this McCosker is in her eyes such of skxawng, before she turned to him to speak.

"Apology accepted... but you should say it like you really mean it from now on." Kaeyla said softly if a bit sternly.

McCosker and his friends raised their eyebrows/tilted their heads as they stared at her blankly, no doubt they didn't understand a single word of Na'vi language, which was typical.

"She said that she forgives you... but requests that you really mean it the next time." Neteyam clarified.

"Yeah. Whatever." McCosker growled with the frown he gave to Neteyam... but more to Kaeyla for her wanting him to be "nice" to her as he put it in that way.

McCosker then turned to his friends. "C'mon, boys. Let's get out of here. We're already late from our shifts because of these blue monkeys."

Earl and the blonde man mumbled in agreement with their friend before they turned to leave for their duties elsewhere in the base, with McCosker staying behind long enough to give a goodbye-wave to Katherine, Neteyam and Kaeyla.

"Bye, boss. See ya later." he said to Katherine. "And "I see you", you two." McCosker added with very sarcastic manner to both Neteyam and Kaeyla before he departed after his friends.

While Kaeyla blinked in confusion as she watched McCosker and his friends going, still not understanding what he said, Neteyam frowned after the man in irritation for his sarcastic make of his people's greeting. The son of Olo'eyktan let a small snarl escape from his mouth before he and Kaeyla turned to Katherina.

Kaeyla, unable to speak or understand the human language, let Neteyam do the talking.

"My humblest apologizes for that, Neteytam. I know McCosker can be such of asshole and the pain in everybody's skin." Katherine humbly apologized, sharing the prince of Omatikaya's irritation with the said man.

"It's okay, Katherine." Neteyam said.

"What are you two youngsters doing here anyway?" Katherine then asked, wondering what brought Neteyam and his friend here in the Hell's Gate.

"I'm just showing my friend around here, Katherine. She's never been here before than what I and my parents have. But I'd like it if you help me in something." Neteyam explained.

Listening to them talk, even though she couldn't understand them, Kaeyla blinked her eyes in surprise when she caught one word of their conversation that really caught her attention.

"Katherine?" Kaeyla repeated.

Both Katherine and Neteyam turned to look at her, unsure if they heard her right.

"Your name... it's Katherine, right?" Kaeyla asked again, turning to Katherine, eyeing her carefully up and down with mild interest, as if she did somehow recognize her even if she hadn't even met her in person until now.

"She asks if your name is Katherine, for some reason, though I may know what." Neteyam translated to Katherine.

Katherine nodded to him in understantment, though she was left baffled by how or why Neteyam's friend actually knew her by her name even though they had never met before.

"Yes. My name is Katherine. I don't think we have met before, Miss Kaeyla." Katherine told her, which Neteyam then translated.

"No. But I have heard my father speaking about you a lot... and he doesn't speak a very highly about you." Kaeyla told her, which Neteyam translated.

Katherine frowned a little, as she found this rather familiar sounding. "And who is your father, if may I ask?"

Neteyam then translated this to Kaeyla, who then nodded her head before turning back to Katherine to reveal her father's name.

"Ka'ani." Kaeyla said.

"Her father's name is Ka'ani." Neteyam told her.

"Ka'ani." Katherine repeated, finally getting it.

Katherine let out the heavy sigh and rubbed his hand over her head, before looking up at Kaeyla.

"We two have a... rather complicated history of... mutual disagreements over many things... that could benefit only one party but not to the other party. This is what your father thinks at least. No offense, of course." Katherine told her.

Neteyam translated this to Kaeyla, who turned to respond to this. "My father thinks you are cutting down our forest wherever you go so you can ravage the earth in order to keep your place running, but at the expense of Great Mother's pain and grief."

After Neteyam had translated that, Katherine shook her head both in slight annoyance with Ka'ani's ever-lasting paranoia of her intentions and in denial that they're cutting down the forest for the new mining sites so blindly like RDA did when they used to run this place.

"Only there where we are allowed to, and not there where we are NOT allowed to. There is a very few places in the former's case, and even then your father and a few others of your people are always there watching to make sure that we won't go beyond of what we've been granted." Katherine explained, which Neteyam translated to Kaeyla.

Kaeyla quirked her eyebrow, unsure of what to think about this. Her dad may not have a high opinion of this Katherine Sky Person, yet she sounds somewhat honest here.

Neteyam then decided to change the subject as he turned back to Katherine. "Say, Katherine. Do you have an idea that where Normspellman and Maxpatel might be right now?"

"Norm and Max?" Katherine said, to which Neteyam responded with the nod. "They happen to be at the main labs or Avatar link room at the moment. At least that's what I think the last time I checked. Go check from there."

"We will. Thanks." Neteyam said, nodding his thanks.

Neteyam then turned to Kaeyla, taking her hand into his and then began leading her away and towards the labs.

"We gotta go now. Kìyevame, and may your path be guided by the Great Mother's wisdom." Neteyam said, bidding his farewells to Katherine as he and Kaeyla continued on their way.

"Or her wisdom enforced by the perspective of your people." Katherine said with the small hint of sarcasm, but waved goodbye to the pair nonetheless before she turned away to resume her duties elsewhere.

Neteyam and Kaeyla then made their way into the laboratories where all the scientist guys were doing their own doings.

But unlike the people at the armor bay, who didn't pay much to not at all attention to them, these lab people immediately greeted them in the polite manner, some of them with their own customs while the few others in Na'vi's customs. Neteyam greeted as many of them as he could, while Kaeyla watched from aside, though she too gave some humans her own greetings in return, especially to those ones who greeted her in Na'vi way.

And the deeper into the labs they went, Kaeyla became somewhat of intrigued by everything these people did, that she paid a close look of everything new to her she and Neteyam walked past by, without disturbing these people too much, of course.

She saw on her way how the human scientists were inspecting, testing and studying all kinds of samples they have taken from the jungle environment around the base from the bright square images (holographic display screens) or under the strange devices (microscopes).

The two reached to the Avatar link room, a circular room where some people were either at holographic screens in middle of the room, which showed the anatomies of the Dreamwalkers, and some other people were either maintaining the control panels next to one of the dozen link units around the room, with the rest of the people either entering or exiting from the links.

And as the two walked up there, even there the people gave the two a warm welcome and greetings with both in human way and Na'vi way, to which the two, mostly Neteyam, returned in kind.

Looking around amongst the bustling people, Neteyam didn't need to search for long when his eyes landed on the familiar black-haired human standing amongst the other humans while looking down at the holographic tablet in his hands.

Max Patel, one of Jake Sully's trusted human allies and friends.

"Maxpatel!" Neteyam called.

Max, hearing his name being called, turned around to face Neteyam and Kaeyla, and his mouth curved up into a pleasant smile.

"Neteyam! I see you." Max said, greeting the prince of Omatikaya with the Na'vi greeting, to which Neteyam returned. "Whatta pleasure and surprise to see you here, though I don't remember getting any message from your father about your arrival beforehand. Does he wish to speak with me about something? Or perhaps with Katherine, who is in the armor bay? Or perhaps with Norm, who is right now driving his Avatar at Avatar compound?"

"Dad's not here, Max. It's just me. I'm here with my own accord this time" Neteyam told him.

Max then looked past Neteyam and spotted Kaeyla standing there a little further back. "I see that you brought along a friend. Though I don't remember seeing her before."

Neteyam then turned to Kaeyla, before he then turned back to Max. "Allow me to introduce my friend, Kaeyla, daughter of Ka'ani."

"Ah! That Ka'ani." Max said, quickly remembering that particular hot-headed Na'vi from one of his previous and rather particular visits at the Tree of Souls back the time when Mo'at had requested his, Norm's, Katherine's and McCosker's help in finding a flower needed for the antidote for Jake, who had been poisoned by the treacherous Na'vi at the time.

"Loyal to his people's cause, yet with the severe anger issues, that one. I'm just glad that I ain't the target of his bad side." Max stated.

Neteyam chuckled at his words. "Well, be glad you're not Katherinehale." he said, joking lightly.

Max chuckled and nodded to him in acknowledgement.

"Anyway, Kaeyla has never before visited the Hell's Gate before. This is her first visit in here, actually." Neteyam said, turning back to Kaeyla. "I'll be showing her around and get her to know our human allies."

"Is she now." Max inquired.

Max then walked past Neteyam and stood in front of Kaeyla to greet her properly, while the latter eyed the scientist curiously. In her eyes, this "Maxpatel" seemed much more jolly, respectful and more welcoming towards her, Neteyam and apparently all the Na'vi in general than what that NashmcCosker earlier was."

"Welcome to the Hell's Gate, Miss Kaeyla. I am Max... Dr. Max Patel." Max said, greeting Kaeyla with the Na'vi greeting.

Though Kaeyla couldn't understand Max either, save for him telling her his name, she nonetheless understood the greeting gesture he was giving to her and returned to it with her own.

"I see you, Maxpatel." Kaeyla said.

Kaeyla then turned to look at the humans that were either entering or exiting from the link units, which concealed them inside and were pulled into a strange machines while some other humans were maintaining the control panels. Never having seen this before, Kaeyla was only partially curious about this. She knew about the Dreamwalkers and had seen them visiting in the village before, but all of this was completely new to her.

"What are they doing?" Kaeyla asked from Neteyam... or Max. "Why those Sky People are going in those strange machines? What for?"

Neteyam translated Kaeyla's question to Max, who gave her a quite complicated explanation.

"They're temporarily transferring their minds through of these link units into their Avatar bodies, or what you call Dreamwalkers. A clones created from the mixed DNA of Na'vi and their drivers' own, thus allowing only the owners of the human DNA used to create them to drive them, which then are grown for five to six years in an amnio tanks, like a babies in a mother's womb, from a coin-sized embryos into a near-fullgrown adults. They need to take them out on the run time to time to keep them in shape for the long-term use."

Neteyam translated all of this to Kaeyla more simplier way. "He says that these Sky People are linking their own minds to their Dreamwalker bodies through of this machinery to take them out on the run time to time. And that their Dreamwalker bodies are like a physical Na'vi-like copies of themselves made from their... uhhh... DNA-thingies mingled with ours, and grown for several years in the artificial wombs until they become a full-grown adults upon their birth."

"Sounds a bit... unnatural, let alone a bit creepy." Kaeyla said uncomfortably.

"Well, unless Ka'ani has already told you, Kaeyla, my dad used once to be one of them to drive his own Dreamwalker body, which also was a physical Na'vi-like copy of himself, in the woods until he became one of our people via the transfer ritual of the Tree of Souls." Neteyam explained.

The prince of Omatikaya also recalled how fondly his father had described his first time in Avatar body and his ability to walk and run with his legs for the first time in years since his spinal injury that robbed this ability from him.

"What can I tell, dad absolutely loved going out there into the woods to drive his own body, which originally belonged to his own late brother, which they were able to share due to them having being born from the same mother, due to him having lost his ability to walk with his real legs because of some injury he received from one of the wars between the Sky People in their own world." Neteyam added.

Kaeyla nodded her head as she tried her best to make any sense of all of that, though trying to understand Sky People things was a quite headache giving stuff.

"Shall we continue?" Neteyam said, pointing at the door. "You wanna to visit somewhere else, likely in the place that is very close to the forest than any other place in the Hell's Gate." he suggested.

Kaeyla looked at him in surprise. "Even in such of place made of stone and metal, there is such of place where we can be as close of the forest as possible?"

"Yes." Neteyam replied with the nod. "Avatar Compound. The station that is located on the outskirts of Hell's Gate, and is made up of a wild environment of the forest that Avatar drivers can use for training purposes. You wanna see it?"

Kaeyla's blue lips cracked up into a smile at the very pleasant thought of being as close of the forest as possible. "I'd love to, Neteyam."

Neteyam nodded in affirmation, before he turned to Max. "Well, we'll be off now, Max. We're gonna see Avatar Compound, and hopefully meet Uncle Norm from there too."

"Well, that was a quick visit from you." Max muttered from under his breath, before speaking out loud. "Well, I'd love to serve you as your tour guide around the Hell's Gate if only I didn't have my hands full right now."

"No need to pull you off your busy work, Max. I can maneuver us throughout the Hell's Gate on my own." Neteyam assured confidently. "After all, it's not my first time here, and my many visits here with my dad have helped me to navigate here." he added, as he led Kaeyla torwards the door.

"I don't doubt that." Max said with the knowing smile. "Well, I won't hold you two in here longer than this. Have a good day with your friend, Neteyam. And see you later."

"Kìyevame. See you later." Neteyam said back, before he and Kaeyla made their way out of the room.

As Neteyam and Kaeyla walked across the lab, Neteyam turned to Kaeyla, looking at her like waiting for some kind of answer. "Well, what did you like about Max?" he asked.

Kaeyla thought about it for a moment before answering. "For a Sky Person... He seems to be fine enough person, but he speaks with the tongue I can hardly understand."

"In English...? Or in the way how he explains how the Sky People's machinery works?" Neteyam questioned

Kaeyla gave it a moment of thought before answering. "Hmm... pretty much of both."

Neteyam and Kaeyla shared a laughter at this, as if they had just told each other a some amusing joke.

To be continued...

NEXT PART: FAMILY SECRETS