alien; lo'ak

⥤ Chapter Twenty-Two : Safe At Last ⥢

⥤ Chapter Twenty-Two : Safe At Last ⥢

Payakan swims around the wreckage, hoping to find his friends. He sees (Y/N) free floating, and quickly goes to save her.

He brings his fin above the water with (Y/N) on top. He cries out a little, seeing her not move. He cries out a little more loudly, searching for Lo'ak.

The teen is on the rocks still, Ao'nung and Tsireya having left to find their parents to help the Sullys – Neteyam cannot move quite yet with his injury. Lo'ak hears his tulkun crying. He stands, looking all around before finally spotting his friend and his love.

"(Y/N)!" He dives into the water, quickly swimming over to Payakan. He brings himself onto his fin, and rolls the love of his life over onto her back. Lo'ak always saw (Y/N) equally, meaning he forgot entirely about the 'Avatar situation'. He begins CPR on her.

The tulkun brings his fin close to the rocks. Neteyam is sitting up a little, in his mother's arms. Everyone sees Lo'ak working hard to save the girl.

"She's okay," Jake tries telling his son. "It's just her Avatar."

Lo'ak doesn't listen. His love – his bond – to (Y/N) fueling him to keep going.

"Lo'ak!" Jake calls out, but he grows more worried by Kiri's sobbing. He quickly turns to her. "Kiri, what's wrong?"

Kiri crawls over to the tulkun's fin, watching Lo'ak to see if he's performing CPR correctly. "No, dad. This is her."

Jake's ears twitch. He doesn't believe it. "What the hell do you mean 'this is her'?!"

Kiri is crying, believing (Y/N) is really gone. "The Soul Tree... Sh-She's in this body now..." She can't fight her tears and talk at the same time, but Jake is realizing. He remembers Norm freaking out that night.

"Damn it." Jake rushes to the fin to take over CPR. Lo'ak holds her hand tightly, kissing it as he's silently whispering for her to come back. Kiri is at her feet, a supportive hand on (Y/N)'s leg as she prays to Eywa.

Then, (Y/N) begins coughing up water. Jake rolls her over and pats her back, helping to get the water out. She gasps between coughing, slowly coming to. Jake rolls her toward him when she's done, and shakes her by the shoulders.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" He asks, (Y/N) barely comprehending it.

"Dad?" Lo'ak and Kiri say at the same time. Jake hands her over to Lo'ak, who is eager to cradle her in his arms as she becomes more aware of her surroundings.

Jake can't feel too mad at the teen, having chosen his Avatar body over his human one too. He's mad though that he let her be in so much danger to help.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" The father asks the three teens in front of them. Lo'ak and (Y/N) exchange nervous eyes, knowing they do have one more secret from Jake – their night at the Soul Tree. (Y/N) looks to Kiri next, who giggles to herself for knowing, and giggles to the pair as she knows Jake will be furious at this.

Neytiri sees how far the girl has gone to her family. She sees how her son and the girl love one another deeply, as (Y/N) leans into his chest, into his embrace. The mother accepts the girl entirely.

"I was no longer 'alien' in any way. Neytiri accepted me, and I have become full Na'vi."

Ronal and Tonowari come to tend to Neteyam's wound, making sure he's safe to travel back to the clan.

"Jake was pissed at me for the longest, mad that I didn't tell him about it. He was pissed at his son too for the Soul Tree, but he was happy I was the one Lo'ak chose."

When Neteyam becomes well, the Sullys all say their goodbyes to the Metkayina clan. With the danger gone, they plan to return to their home in the forest.

Jake turns to (Y/N), and brings her in for a hug. He always thought the twins were special, and he's glad one of them has become a Sully.

"And as much as I loved how my body adapted to the water, it's home was the forest. My skin grew tougher as I was able to be in the trees and in the skies."

Late into the night, at their home in the forests, Lo'ak and (Y/N) fly their ikrans through the skies. The two childhood close friends, are now forever lovers.

(Y/N) has never felt more happy than she does now, in the skies of Pandora with Lo'ak. She was born to be Na'vi.