*𝐈𝐟 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐚'𝐯𝐢, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐝*
-𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐯-
That night a group of Na'vi warriors took to the previous home of The Tree of Voices. Killing the soldiers that stood in their way, and destroying the Bulldozer. Burning it down to a crisp.
The drums of war had officially been played.
Quaritch, Selfridge and other members of the main deck, control room watched on to the live feed on their screens. Lyle walked around with a crew seeing and reporting all the damage that occurred.
"I'll do it with minimal casualties to the indigenous." Quaritch explained gently to Parker as they sat in his office after that meeting.
"I'll drive them out with gas first. Then we can just scoop up Alexis, using her as a bargaining chip to keep them out and away from wherever we need to be. It'll be humane. More or less."
He explained at Selfridge sighed. "All right, let's pull the trigger." He agreed.
Trudy ran through the halls trying to find Jake and Grace. They were sitting in the science lab, Grace was drinking and Jake was sulking. "She's going to hate me."
Jake sighed looking over Grace's book.
"This was stupid. I was stupid! This is really how it's done. When people are sitting on shit that you want, you make them you're enemy. Then you're justified in taking it."
He threw Grace's book to the ground.
"Quaritch is rolling the gunships." Trudy huffed as she came into the room. "He's gonna hit Home Tree." "Oh my god." Grace gasped.
Parker watched out the bay window at all the helicopters that were awaiting the flight plan.
He seemed nervous, almost regretful about the choice he had made. One of the security guards began shouting as Grace barged her way back in. "Dr. Augustine! You cannot be up here!"
"Back off." She shoved him away and approached Parker.
"Parker, wait. Stop. These are people you're about to... I said back off!" She demanded as the security officer tried to grab her once more. "No, no, no, no." Selfridge shook his head.
"They're fly bitten savages that live in a tree! All right? Look around! I don't know about you, but I see a lot of trees! They can move!"
He yelled angrily as Jake approached in his wheelchair. "Can you guys just, please." He pointed to the security teams and then Grace and Jake.
"There are families in there. There are children. Babies. Are you gonna kill children?" Grace asked him in disbelief.
"You don't want that kind of blood on your hands. Believe me." Jake assured him. "J-Just let me try to talk them out. They trust me." Jake begged. "Calibrate fast!"
Grace yelled after getting the okay from Selfridge. They walked through the link room. "We're going in, right now!"
"Calibrating three and four!" A link tech called out as the Pod opened up.
"Run sequence."
"Initiating. Thirty seconds." Max told Grace. "Listen to me." Parker hovered over Jake's body in the pod.
"You've got one hour. Unless you want your girlfriend in there when the axe comes down, you get them to evacuate. One hour." He demanded harshly. Jake's Pod closed and his eyes shut.
-𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢'𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐯-
It had been hours without Jake and I was worried about him.
Neytiri and I, with the help of some stronger men, lifted Jake and Grace's bodies up Home Tree and towards the bed areas to keep them safe.
Neytiri and I didn't leave their sides, waiting for them to wake up. Down below they were planning their attacks and we knew it, but there was no changing their minds.
Not this time. Jake suddenly seemed to stir and I leaned over him, anxiously.
"Jake?" I questioned and his eyes flickered open.
"Jake!" I tossed myself into his arms and he quickly wrapped himself around me.
"Marali." He breathed in relief. He quickly pulled away from me and looked into my eyes. "They're coming. We have to warn them." He said quickly and I nodded, helping him to his feet.
Grace awoke and the four of us ran down the spiral of Home Tree.
"Mo'at!" I called out to her. She, Eytukan, Neytiri, and my family were sitting in a war circle planning our attacks. "Jake!" Neytiri ran to him, hugging him tightly.
"𝐄𝐲𝐭𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐧, 𝐎𝐞𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 '𝐮𝐨 𝐥𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲" Jake told them with urgency in his voice. "𝐓𝐢̀𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐧." Grace pleaded.
(Eytukan, I have something to say) (Listen)
"𝐩𝐥𝐥𝐭𝐱𝐞, 𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲" Eytukan nodded, granting him permission.
(Speak, Jakesully)
"𝐀̈ 𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐦 𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐮 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬" Jake explained and I felt the pit of my stomach harden. This was it. The evil time was coming, which Eywa was warning me about.
"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠.... 𝐋𝐮 𝐬𝐤𝐚'𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐤𝐮 𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥"
(A great evil is upon us) (The Sky People are coming.... To destroy Home Tree)
The people around us gasped in fear, and the warriors huffed in disbelief. "Look, tell them they're gonna be here soon." Jake begged me.
"𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥, 𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐱𝐞. 𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐮 𝐭𝐢̀𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐮 𝐚𝐲𝐟𝐨 𝐥𝐮 𝐥𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐞'𝐫𝐢̀𝐧" Neytiri explained and looked at Mo'at, having told her about my dreams.
(Father, please. He's telling the truth. The Sky People are coming and they will be here soon)
She quickly stepped up to Eytukan and looked at him. "You have to leave, or you're gonna die." Jake pleaded. "Are you certain of this?" Mo'at demanded.
Jake paused for a moment like what he was about to say next could destroy everything.
"Look, they sent me here to learn your ways so one day I could bring this message and that you would believe it."
Jake explained and I saw Neytiri's face, feeling her heart clench in her chest. Neytiri stepped away from him in disbelief. "You knew about this?" Neytiri accused him angrily.
Jake looked over her then at me.
"Jake are you serious right now?" I asked in disbelief as Neytiri wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to panic. "You knew." I whispered and I felt the tears build up in my eyes.
"You knew this would happen?"
Neytiri couldn't look at him. But, Jake approached her slowly, and raised his hand to her chin to gently force their eyes to meet. Neytiri could see the sincerity behind his eyes.
"Yes." He said softly.
"You used me?" Neytiri shook her head and tried to pull away, but Jake grabbed her wrists.
"Look, at first it was just orders, a-and then everything changed. Okay?" He explained desperately. He placed his hands on her arms and looked into her eyes.
I knew he meant every word, but Neytiri's heart was broken.
Anger, betrayal and distrust lingered over her feelings at the moment. His smile he tried to give Neytiri for reassurance made my stomach churn.
"I fell in love. I fell in love with the forest and with the Omaticaya people. And I fell in love with you, Neytiri." "I trusted you." Neytiri said, tears fall from her eyes
Neytiri tried to break away from his hold, pushing his arms down and away from her. "I opened my heart to you. I gave it to you."
"And I gave you mine." Jake assured her, trying to grab at her arms, that kept deselecting him away from Neytiri.
"I trusted you!" Neytiri yelled angrily. "Trust me now, please." Jake begged.
"Get away from her!" I screeched and broke between them, shielding Neytiri from him. "You brought this upon us! How could you do this to us, to Neytiri!" I yelled at him, pushing him.
"What else did you tell them?! You will never be one of the people!" I growled, glaring at him.
"I shouldn't have broken your trust." Jake apologized, still not looking at me, trying to see over me towards her.
I pushed him away as Tsu'tey wrapped his arms around Neytiri in support, holding her steady. "We tried to stop them!" Grace said, trying to calm me down.
"Neytiri! No, please! Please!" Jake begged as Neytiri sobbed into Tsu'tey's arms.
"𝐘𝐢̀𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦" Eytukan growled at Neytiri's heartbreak, taking Neytiri from Tsu'tey's arms, allowing him to charge forward and shove Jake to the ground.
(Bind them)
"You have to go! They're coming!" Grace begged and shouted. "Silence!" Tsu'tey demanded.
Atan'eko and I comforted Neytiri and Eytukan raised his bow high into the air, earning war cries from the others. Jake watched from afar, his own heart breaking as Neytiri wouldn't even look at him.
If only he could go back and change what happened. Because he would do it in a heart beat.
-𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐯-
Hovering over the forests, came a fleet of hovercrafts, ships, helicopters. All things armed with heavy artillery. "Time on target, one mike." Dragon pilot said into his coms.
"Copy. We have a visual." Scorpion piloted replied.
"Roger that. Stay on heading 030." Dragon Pilot stated. "Roger 030." Scorpion replied. Home Tree was in their sites.
At Home Tree, the people had taken poles and strung Grace and Jake up onto them in punishment. We all turned hearing the hovercrafts approaching.
-𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢/𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐯-
"Eytukan!" Grace and Jake called out for him.
"Run to the forest!" Jake pleaded. "Run to the forest!" "They're coming!" Grace yelled. "They will destroy this place. They will destroy this place!" He tried to make them understand.
"Mother, Father." I turned to look at them worriedly. They placed a hand on my arms as we looked at the sky's.
"Neytiri! Marali! You must go now!" Grace yelled towards us, as we watched the skies. A warrior yipped and pointed into the sky seeing the approaching fleet.
"Run to the forest! Run! Neytiri, please go! Run!" Jake pleaded loudly over the sounds of the aircrafts.
Our people readied ourselves with our bow and arrows. "𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐱𝐨𝐩𝐮!" Tsu'tey calmed our people. "𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐱𝐨𝐩𝐮!"
(Have no fear!)
The largest of the fleet turned and pointed it's nose at Home Tree. It began lowering like it was going to land and the wind from the turbines, blew harshly in our faces.
"No! God damn it, run!" Jake demanded in fear.
"𝐊𝐚̈𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐮 𝐢𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐧, '𝐞𝐤𝐨 𝐭𝐚'𝐞𝐦!" Eytukan demanded of Tsu'tey. "𝐥𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐧! 𝐊𝐚̈! 𝐊𝐚̈!" Tsu'tey relayed to his warriors as they headed towards the spiral.
(Take the Ikran, attack from above!) (To the Ikran! Go! Go!)
"That is one big damn tree." Colonel Miles Quaritch stated, looking out the windshield of the largest Ship.
He walked over to one of the monitors and smirked, pulling the image up clearer. Seeing Jake and Grace tied up, with knifes to their throats.
"Well, well, well. I'd say diplomacy has failed. All right people. Let's get this done. I want every gas round you got right in the front door." "Roger, CS. 40's going hot. Firing."
The machine's weapons on the outside began to move and suddenly large missile like canisters began to be released into the air.
Mother and I ducked as one bounced right over our heads. A gas began releasing from the container and the Omaticaya people started screaming and then coughing harshly.
"Go, quickly, this way!" I shouted over the smoke and coughed. Attempting to lead the people out the backside of Home Tree, away from the ships.
I ran back towards the front and stepped outside, looking around for my mother, brother, and father. "Bingo." Quaritch smirked seeing me enter the outside. "Mighty good shooting, Ace."
"Fire!" Father shouted his command.
The warriors around him, alongside Neytiri began raising their bow and arrows to the sky allowing them to fly freely. The arrows bounced off the metal, doing nothing in assault to their fleet.
"Sir, they've open fired." The pilot told Quaritch. Arrow's bouncing off the ship and the windshield.
"You've got to be kidding me." He rolled his eyes. "These dumb bastards ain't getting the message. All right, let's turn up the heat. Switch incendiaries!"
"Switching incendiaries." The gunman to the ship responded. "Firing."
I lifted my bow into the air and began firing alongside my brother and father. But even large missiles began being released from their machines towards Home Tree.
Explosions began occurring, fire billowing out from the bottom of Home Tree and I fell to my knees, screaming out in pain, feeling the explosions rake through my body.
My people screamed, whether it was in fear, or as they were being blown up.
"Sister!" Atan'eko cried. "No!" Jake screamed in horror. Tsu'tey and his warriors, quickly continued climbing Home Tree's spiral as the flames ignited at the bottom.
"𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐮 𝐧𝐚'𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠!" Father commanded. Every one of our people began to scatter backwards and retreat as commanded.
(Get everyone to the forest!)
"And that's how you scatter the roaches." Quaritch grinned seeing them all retreat.
Neytiri and Ley'ra helped me to my feet and began leading me away. I quickly stopped them and met the eyes of Jake as he and Grace hung trapped in their spots.
"Marali! Neytiri!" Jake called out to us desperately.
It stung my heart, but Neytiri pulled me up and away. Jake watched disappointed, and yet understanding as I was led away from him.
"We gotta move! He's gonna blow up the columns!" He explained to Grace and she began fighting her restraints harder. "My god!"
Neytiri and I ran towards the people and I quickly stopped in front of Father and Eytukan.
"Get the people away! I will stay and defend our Home!" Eytukan commanded. "Father, no!" Neytiri shouted trying to grab him arm. "You'll die, Father! Come!" I cried.
"I love you, my daughter. Keep each other safe. Go! Go, now!" His soft voice hardened as he pushed us off him roughly.
Father mouthed I love you at me. Neytiri and I didn't see any other choices and began to run. Mother and Atan'eko ahead of us. The fire burning Home Tree, I could feel it in my heart.
It burned and scorched, like a wound that would never heal.
I wobbled as I ran, and Neytiri stuck by my side, helping me along.
Mo'at, walked towards Jake and Grace with her dagger in hand. She approached him and placed the dagger on the side of his neck. "Mo'at, no!" Grace cried out.
"If you are one of us, help us." She begged as tears streamed down her face.
This surprised them greatly and she cut them both free. "All call signs, switch missiles. Give me HE's at the base of the west columns." Quaritch called out to his fleet. "Scorpion? Find the girl."
"Roger that."
"This way!" Jake called out to some of the straggling Omaticaya people. Mo'at nodded and gestured for him to be trusted and they all ran towards the forests.
"Rider section. Switch missiles" "One's good."
"Two's rocks up." "Three's up."
"Yeah, baby! Get some!" Lyle shouted happily from his post as Gunman on Trudy's ship. "Charlie Oscar, gunrunner standing by." "Bring it down." Quaritch demanded.
"Cleared. Coming in hot."
Missiles flew through the air, hitting the columns of Home Tree, creating even bigger mass explosion's. Grace and Jake fell to the ground due to one of the blasts.
"Come on, Grace. Move!" Jake told her quickly. Helping her over a fallen log.
Neytiri and I were forcibly separated as the blast took place. My body twirled in the air and landed roughly on the ground. I cried out in pain, for I ached all over.
"Marali!" She coughed. "Neytiri!" I cried for her.
"Eye's on prime target." Scorpion relayed. "Bring her in." Quaritch commanded. A stray helicopter descended quickly towards the ground.
A group of gunners jumped from the side of the open helicopter, with large guns in their hands. I crawled backwards on the ground and raised my bow quickly.
Releasing arrows at them. One of the five fell and the other's began to fire.
I tried to get up and run, but it was no use. I screamed out as something hit my leg and my side. I cried out in anger raising my bow again, trying to shoot the men, but my vision became blurry.
I saw Jasper, his figure but it was transparent.
"J-Jasper." I whimpered as my eyes closed and I fell towards the ground unconscious.
-𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐯-
More missiles began to fly through the air. "Get down! Head down! Come on! Come on!" He called to them, sticking them behind the fallen log, as the explosions rained harder.
"Marali!" Neytiri cried, seeing her friends body being loaded onto the aircraft.
She desperately tried to get up, but the winds from the blasts, kept pushing her back down to the ground. "Marali!" Ney'ite scream"Solid hits." "Solid rocks on target."
"The target Alexis has been acquired. I repeated the target has been acquired."
"Screw this." Trudy grunted, hearing all the chatter. She flipped off her targeting switches and began to retreat from the line up of the fleet. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?"
Lyle asked her as the ship began to break away. "I didn't sign up for this shit!" Trudy yelled at him.
Pieces of wood began blowing around as Home Tree finally began to crack. Eytukan fell to the ground after a blast with a groan of pain.
Neytiri climbed up from the ground as the assault seemed to stop. She looked around, but the carrier with her friend was gone out of sight.
She looked up at Home Tree, smoke filled the air in thick clouds, traveling upward. The columns suddenly began to shatter and break apart as if they were mere twigs.
The giant Home Tree began to fall forward.
"Go, go, go!" Jake shouted, moving alongside Grace and Mo'at.
Villagers screamed at the site. Ikran's jumped towards their riders, and the ones left without them, jumped from the trees, spiraling towards the ground in means of escape.
People began to run and scatter to try and desperately stay away from the falling tree.
"No, no! Get back!" Jake pulled their arms, releasing if thy kept running they were going to be squashed.
Neytiri screamed out as she ran, trying to avoid the falling branches. Home Tree crashed into the ground, squashing many of the Omaticaya people underneath her great trunk.
The survivors, which were now few in number began screaming in horror at their lost home, family and friends.
Mo'at screamed in pain. Grace looked on in horror. Jake watched with anger that filled him.
"That's good work, people. First round's on me tonight." Quaritch complimented his crew. "Let's boogie." He told the pilot.
Even people at the Hell's Gate base watched on in horror at the screens that showed the damage done. The fleets retreated and began home.
"𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥!" Neytiri shouted as she ran through the smoke filled forest and fires trying to find him.
Finding his body on the ground she began to cry as she approached him, seeing a large piece of wood through his torso. "𝐍𝐨, 𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥, 𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐱𝐞 𝐭𝐢̀𝐭𝐱𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢. 𝐍𝐠𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨"
(Father!) (No, Father, please wake up. You can't leave me too)
"'𝐢𝐭𝐞" Eytukan groaned. "𝐊𝐚̈𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞... 𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐬𝐤𝐨. 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐧𝐮 𝐥𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐍𝐚'𝐯𝐢 𝐥𝐮 𝐥𝐮" He told his daughter weakly. The last of the words left his lips and Neytiri held the bow in her hands.
Eytukan closed his eyes and his hand fell limp to the ground.
(Daughter) (Take... My bow. Protect the people for us)
"Neytiri!" Jake called out as he ran through the forest.
He gasped, seeing Neytiri leaning over someone body. He coughed and ran towards her. Sadness washed over him, seeing the leader, chief of the Omaticaya people on the ground.
Neytiri was here mourning herself and that left a pit in his stomach.
"I'm so sorry, Neytiri." Jake comforted her. His hand reached for her back and she quickly shot up away from him. "Get away." She cried. "Get away! Marali is gone! Get away and never come back."
She shoved his chest and Jake's eye's had widened at her words.
He stood frozen in his tracks terrified. "Pull the plug." Parker said gently to the soldiers that had joined him back at Hell's Gate. "No, you can't do that!" Norm shouted.
"No!" Max yelled. "You can't do that!" The woman link operator shouted.
"Calm down! Calm down!" A soldier quickly pinned Norm. "No, please!" He begged. Quickly Norm raised his fist and punched the soldier in the face, releasing his hold.
He covered the monitor for the links, but more soldiers surrounded him, pulling him away.
The one he punched moved to the monitor and pressed the big red cancel button, shutting off the pod. Grace's body, who was traveling with the Omaticaya people, fell to the ground.
They quickly gathered around her body in worry and pulled her along with them.
Jake was walking around aimlessly through the forests. "I was a warrior who dreamed he could bring peace." They pressed the cancel button on Jake's pod and his avatar body fell to the ground.
"Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up."
Jake's eye's opened as the link was cut off, to see soldiers standing around him shouting something at him, but he could not hear. They lifted his limp body out of the pod.
Norm fought against the cuffs that held him to the railing.
"Put him down!" Norm screamed. "You murderer!" Grace screamed in their faces as she was restrained.
Neytiri walked alongside her people and her mother, stopping for a moment to look back at the destruction of their home.
People carried the injured and mourned their dead, heading to the one place they had left. The Tree of Souls. Mo'at stopped to her daughter and grabbed her arm, gently tugging her along.
"Marali" Atan'eko mumbled, glancing at the ship flying away as Ney'ite and Mi'awtu put their hands on his back, fearing for their daughter.