Quaritch stood far left of the kids tied to the railing. Two other avatars stood nearby, guarding the place.
Suddenly he heard a thud above them. In the upper deck.
A single thud. But that made no sense, there were three other soldiers up there.
"What the..." A soldier murmured.
Suddenly three more thuds were heard, like thunder. The RDA were smart enough to know that that wasn't a good sign.
The familiar sound of an arrow flying was heard before one of the soldiers was shot square in the chest, right infront of the pool.
That arrow....
"That's right....She's coming for you!" Kiri said.
Quaritch glared at her, hissing in frustration. Kiri hissed right back.
Neteyam turned to see what was happening behind them, and saw a knife spinning in the air from above before piercing into the body of an avatar who tried to see what happened to everyone above.
Just as that knife hit, Te'rani jumped down, too quickly for the RDA to react in time and fast enough for her to get cover.
Neteyam's eyes widened and he smiled for the first time that day. He couldn't explain how relieved he felt to see her, and hear his mother there.
But just then, he was grabbed by Quaritch. He growled. "Let him go!" Kiri shouted.
Gun shots began firing one direction.
"Na'vi 12 o'clock don't loose her!" Someone shouted over the gun shots.
Another arrow flew at one of the avatars, killing him instantly while the rest stupidly looked up for where it came from.
Neytiri shot another arrow at the sky people before having to take cover frm their gunshots.
Te'rani stabbed into one human and pushed him onto the other, making both fall into the water, sinking because of the weight of their suits.
She looked around, her fists balled up, one of them holding her knife and the other empty. That one was lying around somewhere above in the ship. Only know did she notice its absence.
She quickly ran to the center of the ship, where a blue pool was, just like the one she has used to escape from earlier.
Te'rani turned a corner and found it empty. But the one beside it, wasn't.
Kiri was tied to the railing.
"Te'rani!"
Te'rani quickly got down and cut the cuffs with her hands.
"Where's Neteyam?" She asked.
Kiri didn't answer, she only stared in horror behind her. Te'rani turned when the slightest sound of Neteyam wincing in pain hit her ears.
She turned and saw Quaritch holding onto Neteyam's kuru with a deadly grip, knife pointed to his neck. His chest was already wounded.
Her heart sank. No.
"Why don't you get your friend to come out? So no one can get hurt" The demon spoke.
Te'rani glared at him in disgust. She snarled and took a step forward with her knife infront of her.
"Don't test me" Quaritch warned. Te'rani didn't understand the english words he spoke, but she understood that his knife pressed harder against Neteyam's throat.
"Weapons. Down" He spoke terrible Na'vi.
"Just KILL HIM" Neteyam shouted. But Quaritch only moved the knife higher on his neck, leaving a wound.
Te'rani didn't have time to respond, because out of the shadows, Neytiri appeared, Spider under her knife just as Quaritch held Neteyam.
She didn't know why Spider was here. Or why Neytiri had him under her knife, but Te'rani panicked nonetheless.
"Release. Or I cut" Neytiri said, having Te'rani's second knife in hand, under his neck. Te'rani looked between them, not fully understanding what had been said. She could guess, but nothing could justify the fact that Neytiri was holding a knife to her children's friend.
Quaritch pretended to huff.
"You really think I care about some kid? He ain't mine. We're not even the same species" Quaritch shrugged.
"Mom let him go!" Kiri said. But she didn't hear her. Te'rani's eyes widened. What was Neytiri doing?
"A son for a son" Neytiri slid the knife on Spider's chest, just as Quaritch had already done on Neteyam's.
Spider groaned out in pain. Te'rani watched, anxious. Was Spider really this demon's son? This better work.
Quaritch hesitated for a moment. Then he finally let go of Neteyam, pushing him to the ground.
Neytiri let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.
Te'rani helped Neteyam up and stood infront of him.
"Neteyam, get them out of here" She said, holding her knife at Quaritch as she was next to Neytiri.
"I owe you a death" He pointed his knife at Neytiri, who hissed back.
"Mom...mom let's go" Kiri said. But Neytiri ignored her.
"You're not leaving, Mrs. Sully. Are ya?" Quaritch taunted. The fire behind him of the ship grew. The ship was unstable.
"...knowing...that I'l always be out there."
Neteyam, Kiri and Spider backed up into the water. Neytiri focused her glare on Quaritch.
"I'm coming for you and when I do I'll kill your whole family." He snarled.
The sky people have spent all their lives chasing families like shadows following their own perpetrator. They have destroyed everything they touch.
No. No more.
"Go back to Hell" Te'rani glared. He lunged forward to attack, but she dodged, lifting a box on the ground and throwing it at him, pushing him back.
His knife flung back in her direction, causing her to move away. But he lunged forward again. Te'rani locked his hand into her arms, making his knife now face the other way.
Their struggle was tough. She was strong. But he was stronger.
A groan left her mouth as she used all her strength to pull his hand and knife down, away from her.
But he was gaining power over that. His hand was pushing through to the other side, and if he did that fully, the knife would have gone straight to her face. But a pair of bluer hands now helped her, pulling his hand away. Neytiri.
Quaritch jerked the other way and caught them off guard. Te'rani moved back, knife still in hand.
Neytiri lunged at him, knife in hand. He dodged this, moving back, but not to his advantage. An aircraft resting on the other side of the ship fell on him as the ship tilted.
Te'rani faced him, Neytiri beside her. Quaritch managed to keep from being taken out by the helicopter, so he moved towards them again. But the ship was turning. They had to move.
_________________________________________
"Everybody stick together. Stay close." Neteyam said as his siblings moved infront of him.
Kiri held Spider's hand, running with him while Neteyam lagged behind slightly. His vision was somewhat blurred. Her chest ached. He used a hand to cover the long wound. It wasn't deep, but it hurt. A lot.
The water was flooding into an open door on the ground. Neteyam didn't see it clearly enough. That was his first and biggest mistake.
He tripped. The water was too powerful. It was forcing him to fall with it.
"Kiri!" He shouted, trying hard to hold on.
"Neteyam!" She screamed back, trying to get to him. She gained her balance first, making sure she wasn't toppled by the flowing, but it was not quick enough.
The flooding water was hitting Neteyam's face, his nose. He lost concentration. His grip lost strength. His hands let go.
"Neteyam!" Kiri shouted, before her brother disappeared into the ship.
Neteyam landed at the end of the flowing water. His wound stung, but he was the least but worried about that now. He climbed the first set of stairs he saw, looking for a way to go back up.
He saw a door almost close. Tables and stairs were on the other side. Stairs. Neteyam ran in the flowing knee length water and pushed open the door.
_________________________________________
Te'rani punched Quaritch right across his face. She slung her knife at him, but the ship was flipping over. Both of them fell into the water.
She fell too close. He immediately grabbed her with arms around her neck. She felt the air in her throat disappear.
Neytiri. Where was Neytiri? Was she safe? Te'rani had lost sight of her when the ship went underwated.
Were they both going to die now, in the hands of this demon?
Te'rani balled her fists and hit his hand, scratching with all her force as air bubble escaped from her mouth.
Neytiri came out of nowhere and ripped her knife across his hand. Te'rani ducked under the line of blood and got loose. Now he was loosing breath.
The ship hit the ground. A large shock wave erupted. Immediately Te'rani kicked him away. Neytiri locked her feet against his neck, now choking him.
He struggled hard despite his hand still bleeding, but Te'rani was there to stop him.
She held an iron grip on his wrist, glaring at him as she tore it away from Neytiri's choke hold.
Finally, he stopped shaking. His eyes closed, and the last few bits of air in him left.
Te'rani felt the strength in his arm disappear. He was gone. But his blood was still spilling. She pushed him away to sink below them.
Looking up at Neytiri, she saw how much she was desperate for air. Te'rani looked above her. They had to get out.
_________________________________________
"Bro! Over here!" Spider waved.
Lo'ak sped to them on an ilu.
"Mom and Te'rani are down there" Kiri told him.
"Come on" Lo'ak said, waiting for them to grab onto his ilu. They rode down to the sunken ship and found an entrance at the center.
Kiri let go and swam near the glowing fish around her.
Lo'ak pointed at one direction, and Spider to another. They split up. Lo'ak took his ilu as far as he could before he had to swim on his own. He dodged pipes and railings, using them to propel him further into the ship.
_________________________________________
"Tiri....Tiri" Te'rani panted as they finally found an air pocket. Neytiri coughed out water from her lungs. She held firmly onto the metal infront of her.
Te'rani held her shoulders firmly. Neytiri was in pain. She had wounds open on her hands. Te'rani wanted to cry. She pulled her into an embrace, a much needed embrace. Neytiri cried as she held her close.
It was done. He was dead. But what of them?