Trigger Warning: Blood, other things that I don't know how to label, read at your own risk
Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
War cries rang through Ja'lia's ears as she watched the Metkayina people rush toward the demon ship with zero hesitation after Payakan had made the first step, giving them all the courage they needed to protect their home and bring the children held hostage home. Payakan landed on the ship with a loud thud as he swung his fins and tail around to destroy as many of the Sky people's weapons as he could.
Ja'lia loudly cheered for her friend, not caring that there was still a gun being held to her back. She watched in amazement as Payakan ferociously defended his home. But her joy came to a halt within seconds as someone yelled for them to attack the tulkun.
"Open fire!" They yelled, and soon dozens of Sky people were attacking the tulkun with their assault rifles, however, due to Payakan's tough skin, it seemed that their weapons were no match for him.
That didn't mean the kidnapped Na'vi children couldn't help the animal, though. "Brother!" Lo'ak shouted, kicking the leg of one of the robots attacking Payakan. Payakan mercilessly moved his fin, hitting the man and sending him back across the ship while he let out a howl of anger.
As more bullets were shot at the tulkun, it only seemed to anger him because his hits were more violent and erratic. The teens and Tuk watch with wide eyes as the tulkun takes a swipe at a machine being suspended in the air, causing the object to fly across the ship and forcing the humans occupying that area to flee.
Amidst the chaos on the ship, Ja'lia could hear the cries of the Metkayina people as they drew closer to the boat, taking out anyone and everyone who got in their way. She watched as the Sky people sent out multiple sets of reinforcements to help their own, but it didn't seem to be helping.
Not only were the Metkayina people fighting, but it seemed that the animals who occupied the water were helping in any way they could. The girl turned her attention back to Payakan and noticed how he was still being attacked from all directions.
But within a couple of seconds, Payakan hit one of the bridges of the ship from underneath, causing it to dent and the people who were on it to fly up into the air before they came crashing down.
Suddenly, the ship abruptly moved, causing everyone to hiss in pain as Ja'lia pulled at the cuffs on her hands. The girl brought her face down to her hands and bit at the cuffs that had caused her wrists to start bleeding. She suspected the men did it on purpose because she bit one of them.
"Lia, I don't think that's going to work," Lo'ak said softly, and Ja'lia glanced at him before a huff escaped past her lips. "I know, but the least I could do was try. They put them on too tight," she said, motioning her head towards the blood falling to the ground from her wrists.
Lo'ak looked down at her wrists, and the anger that had seemed to subside grew as he noticed the blood. Those demons hurt his Ja'lia, and he was going to make them pay. One way or the other.
It was only a matter of time before someone came to their rescue, and when they did, he would find his chance for revenge, particularly on the man who had been taunting his girlfriend, ultimately leading her to latch her jaws onto his disgusting skin. Lo'ak hadn't even been shocked when Ja'lia bit the man because he was essentially asking for it by reaching out to touch her. Hell, if Lo'ak had been within the man's reach, he probably would have sunk his teeth into the man too.
The boy went to say something, but he was cut off by the sound of a smaller boat making its way toward them. They all whipped their heads in the direction of the small ship, and Ja'lia narrowed her eyes to see a sharp object on some sort of machine that was most likely going to be used to put a stop to Payakan.
"Payakan!" Ja'lia yelled out, and it was like everything happened in slow motion. She watched as the harpoon zipped through the air towards her friend, but luckily Payakan deterred the object by tilting his head down. The harpoon was redirected to an area on the ship, and soon a huge explosion sounded, causing Ja'lia's ears to ring in pain.
But once she looked up to see Payakan was making his escape, sighs of relief escaped all four children being held captive. The tulkun let out one last cry before diving into the water, narrowly missing a Sky person, who'd been shooting at him and denting a crane.
The Sky people then turned their attention to the warriors charging towards them and opened fire. However, it seemed that the Sky people wasted their bullets as the Metkayina people dove into the water for cover.
Ja'lia smirked when she realized the demons were completely out of their environment. They had been at the Omatikaya clan for years before they were forced to leave, so they most likely knew some of their strategies, but it was completely different with the Metkayina people. The Metkayina people were built for the water. It was one of their greatest strengths, and it was going to be almost impossible for them to find an advantage that would help them to win at this moment.
Originally, Ja'lia had thought that the Metkayina people were completely out of their element when it came to facing the Sky people, but it seemed that she was wrong, and Ja'lia could admit when she had been wrong.
In fact, relief washed over her as she realized that maybe they could defeat the Sky people once and for all. Maybe after this, the Sully family could have the peaceful life they once knew without having to look over their shoulders in fear.
"Stand back," the man ordered. "I want eyes from above!" He yelled out, and the Avatars ran to their ikrans, connecting their queues, causing Ja'lia to scoff in disbelief. They weren't worthy of bonding with an ikran, and they certainly weren't worthy of her home planet.
All the humans did was wreak havoc on anything and everything because they were selfish creatures who didn't care for their planet. They didn't care for their mother the way the Na'vi cared for theirs. And now that their home was dying, they expected the Na'vi people to step aside and allow them to do the same thing to theirs.
It was such bullshit.
The girl watched in distaste as Quartich hopped onto his ikran and took off. Then she heard Tuk's voice, "Mom!" She shouted, and Ja'lia turned her head to see Neytiri take down an aircraft that was preparing to take off. The three teens and Tuk smiled in victory as they watched Neytiri fly back towards the battle before an Avatar on his ikran started chasing after her while shooting his weapon.
However, Jake must have seen what the Avatar was doing as he started to shoot at the Avatar who was attacking his mate.
No one messed with Neytiri and got away with it without at least a few bruises, either courteous of Jake or Neytiri herself.
The group turned and watched as Payakan sent a small boat flying into the turbine on the ship, and as the boat hit the blades, an explosion echoed once more, causing the ship to jostle. The turbine that had been set on fire started to move, and Ja'lia's eyes widened. There was no way this was going to end well.
She had been right, of course, as the ship crashed into the rocks, sending the teens and Tuk flying into the air before hitting the ground with a thud. Ja'lia hissed in pain as she could already tell where the bruises would form on her limbs, then she looked to inspect the damage on her wrists and realized that the cuffs had cut even deeper.
But it didn't matter how much pain Ja'lia was in because she needed to make sure that Tuk nor Tsireya were hurt. The girl angled her body so that she could turn to make sure both girls were okay, only allowing herself to fully breathe when she didn't see any serious injuries.
"Are you okay?" Lo'ak asked the group, and Ja'lia grumbled something about reminding her to thank Payakan for the bruises on her legs. "What was that?" Lo'ak questioned, but the girl shook her head and slightly smiled, "Nothing. I'm fine," she said.
Ja'lia went to bite at the cuffs on her wrist once more, but her effort came to a stop when she heard the name Tuk yell, "Neteyam!" Her head whipped up to see Neteyam gracefully launching himself onto the ship before making his way to Tsireya to cut off her cuffs.
He then moved to Tuk and Ja'lia, "Hey, baby brother," he greeted Lo'ak, cutting off Ja'lia's cuffs. "Need some help?" He asked.
"Thank Eywa you're here," Ja'lia muttered, looking at the damage on her wrists.
"What happened?" Neteyam asked in concern.
"Those assholes purposefully made my cuffs tight because I bit one of them," she said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck when she heard Lo'ak snort.
"You bit them?" The boy asked.
"Again," Tuk stated, causing Neteyam to raise his eyebrow.
"We don't have time for this. Come on - get me loose," Lo'ak breathed out, and Neteyam looked back at Ja'lia and Tsireya. "Get Tuk out of here," He said, and Tsireya grabbed onto Tuk, pulling her away from the ship while Ja'lia hesitated.
The girl knew there was no way that Lo'ak was leaving this ship without saving Spider. Even though she felt the boy should be left behind, Ja'lia would support Lo'ak no matter what.
"We have to save Spider!" Lo'ak yelled, not even waiting for his brother's response. Neteyam hissed before turning around to face Ja'lia. "I need you to take care of Tuk, okay?" He said, running off after his idiotic brother, and Ja'lia's best friend.
She was left with two decisions. Follow what Neteyam asked of her, or chase after the two brothers. And for some reason, there wasn't a second thought in her decision as she dove into the cold water after Tsireya and Tuk.
Of course, Ja'lia had warrior training, but she knew that Tsireya didn't, and if they were to get captured again, there was no way Tsireya would be able to protect the youngest Sully child. Ja'lia could see that Tuk was a little bit ahead of her, so she kicked her legs harder and forced herself to go even faster.
When they both broke the surface, their gaze was lifted to the sky.
"Let me go!" Kiri demanded.
"Look!" Tuk cried out, pointing to the ikran as it dropped Kiri onto the deck.
Ja'lia hissed in rage before she started to move her body back toward the ship. "We've got to go back for her!" Tuk yelled, following Ja'lia's lead.
"Tuk! Wait!" Tsireya shouted but started to follow after the girls without another word.
"Sullys stick together!" The two girls chanted before taking a big breath, diving underwater, and swimming back to the ship they had just escaped.
The swim back to the ship had been quick as they hadn't made it far away before seeing Kiri. Once they were close enough, Ja'lia climbed up first, then Tuk, and finally Tsireya. The three girls stealthily snuck around the ship before Tsireya spoke out to them.
"Guys. This is not a good idea," she informed, and Ja'lia had to stop herself from snorting. It wasn't a good idea, but Ja'lia wasn't going to allow Kiri to be by herself with those monsters. It was one thing when it was a group of them, but Kiri by herself was a big red flag in the girl's mind. Ja'lia would never allow any of the Sully children to fight any battle by themselves if she could help it, and in this instance, she could help Kiri.
Nevertheless, the two Omatikaya girls persisted forward in crouched positions as they continued to search for Kiri, and when they made it to the end of a wall, Ja'lia peaked around it to see Kiri cuffed to one of the railings.
She reached down to grab her knife only to find an empty pouch. The girl was confused because she always had her knife with her until she realized that she had taken it out to defend herself earlier, and it must have still been on the ship where they were before.
Ja'lia looked back at Tuk and Tsireya, "She's there," the girl whispered, looking around to make sure there weren't any Sky people.
Once she ensured the coast was clear, she ran in a crouched position with the other two girls behind her. "Kiri!" Tuk whisper-shouted. As soon as Tuk made it over to her sister, the two girls started to desperately pull at the restraints. "Tsireya, do you have your knife?" Ja'lia asked, and the Metkayina girl quickly nodded before reaching for her knife.
Ja'lia showed Kiri how to hold out her hands while Tuk fawned over her sister, and Tsireya watched the girls as her anxiety started to take over. It wasn't until Tuk yelped that they all realized none of them had been on the lookout. Ja'lia grabbed the knife from Tsireya's hands and launched it toward the Avatar who held Tuk.
It hit the Avatar, wounding him, however, Ja'lia hadn't anticipated that there would be more than one, and when she felt the stinging sensation on her wrist, she realized that she made a grave mistake. She watched in horror as the man threw Tsireya off the ship into the water down below them.
Soon, Tuk and Ja'lia were cuffed to the railing, and the man whom Ja'lia had bitten before tightened her cuffs as much as he could, causing her to wince in pain.
"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" He taunted, and Ja'lia snarled at him.
"Why don't you come over here and say that at a distance where I can do something about it?" She spit, causing the man to look at her confused because she had spoken to him in Na'vi. However, it seemed that someone in the group had understood her words as a chuckle escaped past their lips, and the man snapped his head toward the direction of the laughter.
"Nothing," the man said, clearing his throat.
Silence fell over the group as the Avatars left to go find their leader, but it was broken quickly as Tuk cried out in disappointment, "I can't believe I'm tied up again!" Ja'lia nodded in agreement as she tried to hold back her laughter from the disappointment in Tuk's tone.
"Where's Lo'ak and Neteyam?" Kiri asked curiously.
"They went to go save Spider," Tuk mumbled as she pulled at the cuffs around her wrist.
Ja'lia remained silent on the matter as now wasn't the time to argue, but when she heard the sound of gunshots in the distance, a knot grew in her stomach. She hoped that Lo'ak and Neteyam were safe, no she prayed that they were safe because if something happened to either of them she would never forgive herself.
But there was still that itch in the back of her mind that something had gone horribly wrong and that nothing would ever be the same again.
Unedited. 07/18/23
Word Count: 2,611
Quick note-
We are so close to 3.1K!! Thank y'all so so much!
Also, prepare for the next couple of chapters.