*You might need at least a few tissues for the chapter. I know I did, but that's because I had to watch the movie while writing this scene*
Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
Ja'lia blew a braid that had made its way to the front of her face out of the way as she silently sat and waited for someone to rescue them. The three girls had been tied up on the ship for what felt like hours, and none of the Avatars who were keeping watch had even given them a second look since cuffing them to the railing.
The girl had tried to talk to them, but with the language barrier, it was no use. However, it wouldn't make much of a difference if they could understand her anyway because she suspected they were ignoring her words and starting to piss her off.
The three girls had tried to pull at their cuffs every once in a while, but at some point, Ja'lia stopped completely because the cuts on her wrists were starting to hurt her as her adrenaline wore off. She didn't have her knife, so there was no way she could cut off the cuffs.
However, a couple of minutes ago, she did catch sight of Tsireya's knife that wasn't too far away, but with the Avatars watching them like hawks, there was no way she could make a move toward the weapon without someone figuring out what she was doing.
Suddenly, the man who was responsible for all this destruction made his way toward the three girls with one of his men right by his side, whispering something in his ear. A look of disbelief flashed across his face before he nodded at the man and told him to go to his post.
Quartich looked at the three girls with an emotionless expression before he walked over to them. "You know, none of this had to happen. All Jake had to do was give himself up." He sighed, causing Ja'lia to snarl as she tried to lunge at him. The man merely smiled at her reaction before it fell off his face at the sight of her arms.
"I thought I told you morons not to injure these girls," He seethed, and the man who'd placed the cuffs on Ja'lia's wrists slightly looked down in shame. Ja'lia watched the man with wide eyes as he approached her, undoing her cuffs before he slapped on another pair, but this time, it wasn't nearly as tight as it was before. Quartich then walked over to the man and spoke to him in a hushed tone.
The Avatar's actions confused Ja'lia because she didn't understand why he cared that one of his men had hurt her. He had no issue with them pointing a gun at her or Lo'ak earlier, so what was the big deal? Ja'lia truthfully didn't understand his actions, but she wouldn't question him because at least the cuffs were no longer digging into her skin.
In fact, they were so loose that if Ja'lia could put up with 30 seconds of pain, she could be able to break free by slipping her wrists out of them. But it would be stupid to attempt the action right now. No, she had to come up with a plan before she made any decisions because it wasn't just her life she had to think about.
Tuk and Kiri were her family. The girl cared for them deeply, and the Sky people knew that. So, Ja'lia knew they would use the two girls against her in any way they could.
All three girls watched as the sun got closer to setting. Soon, they would all be in the dark, and they grew worried that Jake and Neytiri wouldn't be coming for them anytime soon. They had been left on that ship for hours, and the war cries coming from the Metkayina had ended a while ago.
It seemed that the battle had come to an end, with the two Sully girls and Ja'lia being the last pawns to play in the game. The silence around Ja'lia was deafening as she waited for either side to make a move, and when she saw a man whisper something into Quartich's ear, she knew it was time to begin the final battle.
His voice made its way into the girls' ears, "Can you hear me, Corporal?" He said, and Ja'lia's head snapped to look up at the Avatar.
"Yeah, yeah. I think you can," the Colonel taunted, causing Ja'lia to furrow her eyebrows at the man.
What the hell was he playing at? Why was he being so smug when talking to Jake? Did something happen? Did someone get hurt?
"I've got your daughters." Quartich informed before adding on, "Same deal as before. You for them."
Ja'lia shook her head and tried to yell out to Jake to not do it, but one of the Colonel's men came over and placed his gun in her face to shut her up. The girl glared up at the man, and she felt the strong urge to free her hands, but now wasn't the time.
She had to figure out what game Quartich was playing. Why was he suddenly speaking to Jake now? Why not earlier? Something had to of happened otherwise he most likely would have threatened one of the girls, or waited for Jake and Neytiri to make a move.
A moment of silence fell over them as Jake had yet to respond to the Colonel's request, and suddenly more Avatars started to disperse around the ship at Quartich's order as the man walked over to the railing on the other side of the ship.
"Talk to me, Corporal," He said, clicking the button on his neck. "I need something, Jake. Or there's going to be consequences," Quartich threatened.
"Yeah, I hear you," Jake's voice sounded through the device, causing Kiri and Ja'lia to share a glance.
It got dark quickly, and Ja'lia watched as eclipse had finally set. Worry and fear started to build in her stomach as she didn't have a good feeling about the impending battle that was to come. She didn't know what it was, but Jake's voice didn't sound right to her.
There was an underlying tone of an indescribable emotion in his voice that she had never heard before.
"Hold fire!" The Colonel ordered, holding his hand up into a fist. Quartich turned around to look at his men. "He's coming. Let's get this guy!" He said, and Ja'lia looked at all of them men to see they were distracted by the arrival of Jake.
If she wanted to get loose from the cuffs, she would have to do it sometime soon.
"It's what we came here for!" Quartich spoke, causing Ja'lia to snarl at the flashbacks of what happened to her parents the moment those demons returned to her home. They all watched as the men who were gathered around the Colonel ran to their posts. "Heads on the swivel, guys." A man said.
The tension in the air covered Ja'lia like a warm, suffocating blanket that she couldn't get out from underneath. Her skin crawled as she waited for the time when she would be able to break free. Ja'lia wanted to end this fight once and for all, and she could feel that her time was coming.
"Talk to me, Corporal," Quartich said, placing a finger on his neck and holding his assault rifle simultaneously. "This ship's going down, and it's taking your girls with it."
However, when the man said his next sentence, Ja'lia's heart stopped beating, she stopped breathing, and her entire world came crashing down. "Your boy didn't have to die."
Lo'ak.
No.
Lo'ak can't be hurt. Please, not Lo'ak.
But then the Neteyam flashed in her mind.
Please, Great Mother. Ja'lia thought to herself as a prayer repeated itself in her mind.
Either way, it felt like her heart was going to rip into a million pieces. The love of her life, or the boy who had always acted like her older brother. She didn't want to have to say goodbye to either one of them. They were her family. They were her reason to live, and she kept going every day, even when she wanted to give up.
"You brought that on yourself," He said, causing rage and pain to blur Ja'lia's vision as she felt a tear stream down her face before falling onto the ground. Tuk scooted closer to the two older girls as the man's words confused her.
What did he mean that his boys didn't have to die? Lo'ak and Neteyam were okay. She had seen them earlier, and neither one of them was hurt. Maybe the man was lying? Maybe he was saying those hurtful things to hurt them? Tuk couldn't bear the thought of losing either one of her brothers.
Neteyam was like a second father to her, and she loved Lo'ak more than anything. Sure, they often bickered with each other, but that's what siblings did. They fought and argued, and they eventually apologized.
What would she do if she didn't have Neteyam there to braid her hair anymore? And who would she fight with if Lo'ak was no longer with her? Would she have to teach Lo'ak how to braid her hair the way she liked it? Would she have to start fighting with Neteyam to fill the void of no longer having Lo'ak around?
Who would make her laugh when she was sad like Neteyam did? Who would protect her when someone was picking on her like Lo'ak did?
Tuk fell into denial as she refused to believe that she lost either one of her brothers and Kiri grew numb to the entire situation.
"Only one way to keep them safe. So, let's get this over with before you lose another kid," Quartich smirked, and Ja'lia forced her tears down as she glared at the man, waiting for him to turn around or leave so that she could get free.
Once she heard that one of her best friends had been killed, any rational plan was made up in her head before flying out the window. Ja'lia didn't care about her life right now, and if anyone tried to hurt Kiri or Tuk, she would kill them in the most painful way she could come up with at that moment.
Suddenly, one of the aircraft in the distance exploded, sending everyone near the machine flying back onto the ground.
All hell broke loose.
Avatars and Sky people alike went to help the ones who had been injured. Guns shots sounded through the air, and Ja'lia smirked when she realized that Jake and Neytiri had come for them.
"Zdinarsik, you copy?"
Nothing but silence was heard on the other line, and that's when Quartich tried another one of his men, "Prager, you copy?"
"Eyes up. Eyes up." A man said, and the three girls could see the faint outline of Neytiri as she made her way toward her children and Ja'lia. More gunshots were shot toward the direction where Neytiri had last appeared, but none of them hit her.
Within a second, Neytiri was leaping from behind where she took cover, shooting a Sky person with one of her arrows that Ja'lia was sure she'd laced with poison.
Men continued to drop like flies as Jake and Neytiri showed zero mercy when avenging their son, who had been taken away from them too soon. But Neytiri. Well, Neytiri was a force to be reckoned with.
There's no rage like that of a mother who lost one of her children, and may Eywa have mercy on any soul who got in Neytiri's way as she tried to save her other children who were being held against their will.
Ja'lia watched Quartich and his men continue to shoot until Quartich seemingly ran out of bullets, and she almost laughed when she saw him pull out his knife as his defense.
Did he think that was going to stop Neytiri from killing him again?
She almost pitied him until she realized that he was the one who brought this on himself. Killing children was a line that Ja'lia thought they would never cross, but she had been horribly wrong. A Sky person had been hiding behind one of the carriers, and as soon as he moved from his cover, an arrow shot threw the air, killing him instantly.
"It's Mom!" Tuk cheered, and fear took over the Colonel's features.
"That's right. They're coming for you," Kiri gritted, causing Quartich to hiss at her. Tuk hissed back, and Ja'lia felt her lips tug into a small smile. Quartich stormed over to Kiri, cutting her restraints loose and tugging her along with him.
"Where are you taking her?!" Ja'lia yelled, but the man ignored her as he went to take cover. The girl looked at her cuffs and decided that this was the moment she'd been waiting for. She slowly pulled her hands out of the cuffs, hissing when the plastic made contact with her skin. "What are you doing?" Tuk asked in concern, but when she saw one of Ja'lia's hands-free her eyes widened.
Ja'lia pulled her other hand out of the cuff and looked around for a knife to cut Tuk's cuffs off, but she came up empty-handed. "I'll be right back," the teen assured, and Tuk shook her head.
"Don't leave me," Tuk pleaded, and Ja'lia felt her ears press against her head before she heard the sound of footsteps approaching behind her. The girl turned around, swinging her arm in the culprit's direction. Jake hopped back at the sight of the arm flying towards him as he held out his weapon to shoot, but when he saw it was Ja'lia, his eyes widened, and he quickly lowered his gun to the ground.
"Dad! Dad." Tuk said in relief. Jake quietly shushed his daughter as he made his way over to cut off Tuk's cuffs. "Okay. Where's your sister?" Jake asked.
"Where's your sister? Where is she?" He repeated, and Tuk pointed in the direction behind Jake.
"That way. That way!"
"Okay, stay behind me," Jake said, and Ja'lia protectively stood in front of Tuk as she looked around for any sign of Kiri.
The girls' eyes widened as Quartich came out from behind the area he had been hiding with his knife pressed tightly against Kiri's throat. "Kiri!" Tuk shouted, and Ja'lia forced the girl to stay behind her as she growled at the fact that there was nothing she could do to save her friend.
"Runnin' out of time here, Corporal. You already lost one kid today. Do you want to lose another?" He said, and Jake had to use every last bit of restraint he had to not attack the man, who was holding his child at knifepoint. "Do not test me," the man threatened, causing Jake to grunt in frustration.
"Just kill him, Dad!" Kiri begged, and Ja'lia silently agreed with her friend while she continued to look around for a weapon she could use. Her bow and arrow were back at the village, but a knife would equally suffice as she'd always been good at throwing them and hitting her target. Ja'lia watched as the blood started to pour from Kiri's neck.
"Weapons down," Quartich ordered.
"Don't. Don't do it." Kiri pleaded.
"Down!"
Jake reluctantly dropped both of his weapons onto the ground as he hoped that if he did so, he wouldn't lose another child. "Kick 'em away," the Colonel demanded.
"Do it!" Jake kicked away his weapons and waited for the man's next order. "Cuff yourself," He said, throwing Jake a pair of the orange cuffs that had been on Ja'lia's wrists moments prior, but before Jake could move to put them on himself, Spider had come out from the shadows.
"No! No, don't hurt her, okay? Don't," Spider ran towards the man who had taken him away from the Sully family, distracting him long enough so that Ja'lia could grab Jake's knife, placing it behind her back as she felt the weight of it in her fingers.
"Stand there! Don't move! Not a step!" Quartich yelled, turning his attention back to Jake. "Cuffs on, now!" He repeated.
"You son of a bitch," Jake spit, slapping the cuff onto one of his hands.
"Please. Don't hurt her!" Spider begged, but before he could take another step, Neytiri came running up behind him, placing her knife against his fragile skin.
"Release. Or I cut," Neytiri threatened.
"What, you think I care about some kid?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Ja'lia scoffed at his statement and felt bad for Spider as she felt the look of hurt flash across his eyes. "He's not mine. We're not even the same species."
"Just please don't," Spider paused, trying to calm his nerves. "Don't - Don't hurt her. Just please let her go," He tried to reason.
"Don't kill him," Kiri said faintly.
"Let her go. Don't hurt her," the human boy pleaded, and Ja'lia watched the scene with calculative eyes as she felt herself gain a new respect for Spider. This was the second time he'd stood up for Kiri and begged someone not to hurt her.
Kiri leaned forward in the man's hold before speaking, "Mom, don't kill him." But she grunted when Quartich pulled her back against him once more.
"A son for a son." She seethed, and Ja'lia closed her eyes as she willed herself to force the tears down. Now wasn't the time to cry over her loss. They were still fighting for their lives, and she had to make sure everyone was safe before she could allow herself to grieve.
"Please, don't hurt her!" Spider asked before crying out in pain as Neytiri sliced him across the chest.
"I cut."
"Please - Please, just let her go, okay? Just let her go." He begged, and Ja'lia felt her hands fall to her sides as she heard the defeated tone in his voice. Neytiri let out a war cry as she brought her knife up, angling it down to pierce Spider in the heart. "Don't!" A voice rang out.
Quartich threw Kiri forward onto the ground as Ja'lia handed Jake's knife to him before rushing towards her friend. She watched as the Colonel waited for Neytiri to do the same thing, and the mother threw the human boy behind her. The three Na'vi children ran towards Spider.
"Spider," Kiri breathed out.
"Spider, get 'em out of here," Jake ordered, holding his knife up defensively to attack if he needed to.
"Come on," Spider panted. "Guys. Tuk. Ja'lia."
"I owe you a death," Quartich said, pointing to Neytiri. Neytiri snarled at the man.
"Mom!"
"Mama."
"Come," Kiri pleaded.
"Come on," Tuk said, grabbing her mother's arm. "Please, Mama."
Neytiri hissed as she allowed Tuk to pull her away from the ship. "You're not leaving, are you, Jake?" He asked.
"It's okay," Kiri said, trying to assure her mother that everything would be fine while Ja'lia remained silent.
"Knowin' I'm out there. Knowin' that I'll never stop. I'm coming for you, and when I do, I'll kill your whole family," He taunted, and Ja'lia slowly made her way into the water as she watched Jake contemplate his next move. "Then let's get it done," Jake shrugged, grabbing a heavy object to launch it at the Colonel.
A fight broke out between the two men as they fought for dominance. Everyone knew that only one of them would make it alive out of this fight, and if Neytiri or Ja'lia needed to step in to ensure that it would be Jake then so be it. Of course, two against one was an unfair fight, but life wasn't fair. The Sky people made sure of that when they came back after Jake had shown them mercy.
In fact, none of this would have been happening if Jake had killed all of them for their heinous acts. They should have been grateful towards Jake, but instead, they showed that they weren't worth anyone's mercy. That all they would ever be is ungrateful, evil, and pathetic souls that weren't worth saving.
"Jake!" Neytiri yelled, and the fire that had been on the ship made its way to the water, lighting it on fire as some of the oil from the ship had leaked into the water.
"It's coming!" Tuk cried.
"Back. Back." Spider said, pushing Kiri and Ja'lia toward the ship away from the fire that would consume them if they didn't move. "Get back to the ship. Go! Go!"
"Tuk, swim, swim!" Kiri said as she forced her body to move back towards the dreadful ship where she had been held captive.
Ja'lia trailed behind the rest of the group to make sure everyone made it on without any struggle. "Stay close. Stay close," Neytiri said, grabbing onto Tuk's hand. There was a current of water going down to one of the lower levels of the ship, and Ja'lia had to admit that it was incredibly strong. The girl watched as the current got a hold of Tuk, forcing her down the hole.
"Tuk!" Ja'lia yelled, diving in after the girl with Neytiri right behind her.
Ja'lia felt the current push her further and further away from the area where they would be able to make their escape as she pushed her head above the water. "Tuk!" Neytiri shouted.
"Mom!" Tuk yelled.
"Swim. Swim! Go, Tuk. Climb up," Neytiri ordered.
All three climbed up the set of stairs as Ja'lia searched around for an exit, somewhere where they would be able to escape the death trap they had found themselves in.
"Mom."
"Run!" Neytiri demanded, and suddenly Tuk lost her footing, but before she could fall to the ground, Ja'lia grabbed her hand and hoisted her up so they could keep running. "Let's go!" Ja'lia yelled.
"Go, go, go!"
Ja'lia could feel the ship shift once more, and she knew that if they didn't get out soon, they would die on that demon ship. It was going down way too fast, and there wasn't an exit in sight. As they continued to run, they were met with a door, "Open it!" Tuk pleaded. Neytiri groaned as she pulled the door with all her strength, but it wouldn't budge so Ja'lia lifted herself and pulled too.
They were finally getting somewhere as they both pried the door open. "Move back! Move back!" Neytiri said.
Once the door was open, Neytiri lifted Tuk into the doorway and then pushed Ja'lia forward, who lifted herself, ignoring the burning sensation in her hands. "Tuk!" Neytiri yelled, following the two girls.
They all ran away from the water that continuously poured into the area they recently found themselves in. "Climb! Climb! Come on!"
"Go! Go up!" The mother said. They all forced themselves to continue climbing as they ignored the aches in their body from exhaustion.
The ship rolled once more, and now it was a straight shot to finding a place where they could escape. None of them had to climb any longer. Neytiri ran to the door to try and pry it open, but the pressure from the water was too strong. Ja'lia swam over to help Neytiri, but even the two combined couldn't get the door to budge.
Her panic surged as she realized that this was the moment she would die. The girl didn't know what she had done to face such an unfortunate death, but when she realized that if she were to die, she'd be reunited with her parents, the panic seemed to ease up slightly. However, when she thought of those whom she'd leave behind, her anxiety and fear spiked.
Ja'lia didn't want to die. There were still so many things she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to complete her right of passage. She wanted to complete her healer training. She wanted to get married. She wanted to start a family one day, and all of this was being taken away from her right at this moment.
"Go, Tuk! Go, Lia!" Neytiri said, panting anxiously.
"There's no way out!" Tuk cried.
"Oh, Great Mother! Great Mother, help us!" Neytiri begged, and Ja'lia held onto Tuk to keep herself grounded because if she didn't feel either Tuk or Neytiri, she would probably have a panic attack, and it wasn't the right time.
Ja'lia said her prayers silently as she pleaded with the Great Mother to help her, to save her, to save them. Eywa's responsibility was to keep the balance, and Ja'lia felt that if the Great Mother were to take all three of them, then the scales would be titled. Ja'lia was too young to die. Tuk was too young to die, and Neytiri had barely even gotten to experience life because those demons didn't know when to quit.
Before any of them knew it, the electricity had gone out, and Ja'lia unconsciously moved closer to Neytiri, letting go of Tuk in the process. "Mama, I'm scared."
"It is all right. Stay close to me," Neytiri panted. "Stay close to Mama," she said, and Tuk made her way between her mom and Ja'lia. "It's okay," Neytiri said, trying to reassure the girls when she didn't seem to be positive herself.
The teen girl had to do something to calm herself down, so she used what Tsireya had taught them during their training.
The way of water has no beginning and no end.
The sea is around you and in you.
The sea is your home before your birth and after your death.
The sea gives, and the sea takes.
Water connects all things.
Life to death.
Darkness to light.
As she finished the last part of what Tsireya taught her, glowing fish made their way to her line of sight. The glowing fish she had seen once before when Tsireya had taken the Omatikaya kids sea shell hunting.
Kiri. Ja'lia thought to herself.
Tuk stuck her head underwater and held her arm out.
"Hi," Kiri breathed out.
"Kiri!" Tuk said, relieved.
"Everything's going to be alright, little sister," Kiri assured, and Ja'lia felt like she could breathe again at the sight of her friend. "Mom. I'm going to give this to you," she said, taking the fish off her back and handing it to the older woman. "It'll help you," Kiri informed, and the other two girls nodded.
"Will you be alright to hold your breath?" Kiri asked, looking at Ja'lia.
"Of course, just get me the hell out of here," Ja'lia said.
Kiri slightly smiled before looking at her mother. "Trust me," she said.
"Calm your heart. Big breaths." Kiri instructed, and everyone took in deep breaths to calm down their adrenaline-filled bodies.
"Follow me," Kiri said before going underwater to show them the way out.
Kiri grabbed ahold of Tuk as she quickly pushed herself through the water and grabbed onto anything she could to give herself some leverage to quicken up the process. Neytiri and Ja'lia followed closely behind while Ja'lia thanked the Great Mother for listening to her prayers.
Slowly but surely, they all made it to the surface, and as soon as Ja'lia broke through the water, she could see Payakan up ahead.
"Ma Jake!" Neytiri yelled.
"Dad!"
"Mom!" Lo'ak said before looking past to see Ja'lia following closely behind. "Lia!"
"Dad," Tuk repeated, and the youngest girl's siblings reached out to help her onto Payakan as she had started to struggle with keeping herself above the water. Ja'lia gave Tuk one final push as she swam over to Lo'ak and placed herself between him and Payakan.
As she looked around, it dawned on her that someone had been missing and that someone was Neteyam.
"No," she whispered, causing Lo'ak to look at her in concern. The boy wrapped his arms around her as she silently let the tears fall, and her grief started to overtake her.
Neteyam was the one those monsters killed. They took him away from his family. None of the girls on the ship even got to say goodbye to him. Kiri and Tuk should have been able to say goodbye to their brother.
He didn't deserve to die. None of them deserved to die.
Ja'lia buried her head into Lo'ak's neck as the tears continued to fall, but when she felt an arm graze her skin, she lifted her teary eyes to see Neytiri. Lo'ak should be with his mother right now, not her. So, the girl let go of Lo'ak and motioned for him to move closer to his mother as the family gathered together into a hug.
That day had been long, but something told Ja'lia that the following one would be even longer.
Unedited. 07/19/23
Word Count: 4,778
Hey everyone!
Hopefully you enjoyed - PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. This chapter caused me physical pain and mental anguish while writing it.
But on the bright side, I heard that they moved the third Avatar movie back to being released in 2024! I'm so happy! Also, this chapter took so long to write because I had to write in through my tears while my dog was trying to drag me by my hair. He's literally so mean to me. 🙄
This is a picture of the culprit:
He's on the left, and don't let that innocent face fool you! He's evil!
Thank y'all so much for over 3.2K reads on my story! I appreciate it so much! I love all of you!
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Have an amazing day!