30

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Life to Death

Slowly the sky turned darker and light vanished of the planet slowly as the the sun hid behind the large moon.

Jake, who was moving forward on his skimwing, searched for his enemy Quaritch in the ocean. The larg ship slowly erupted in flames as all the gas poured into the water and began to sink slowly.

He stopped in his tracks when he spotted a group of young teens huddled together around an ilu in the ocean. They seemed they were in need of help as they tried to drag someone on some rocks. Jake made his way to them fast and felt his heart stopping at the sight of his oldest son injured.

"What happened?" Jake asked hurriedly and grabbed his oldest son under the shoulders who was has a bleeding wound near his left shoulder. "Watch his head!" Together with the teens he managed to lay Neteyam down onto the rocks who was coughing up the water he accidentally swallowed.

"He got shot." Lo'ak answered with a trembling voice as he kneeled down beside his brother. Tsireya and Spider were crouched down slightly behind him but with their eyes on Neteyam. 

Jake silently cursed and pressed his hands on the bleeding wound. "We need to know if the bullet got stuck or went through. You need to help me turn him to the side. Lo'ak, son, look if there is an exit point on his back." he instructed.

All of them helped turning Neteyam slightly to the side so Lo'ak could look at his back. "There is an exit point, dad!" he said, not knowing if it's good or bad.

"That's good." Jake exhaled and tore a piece of cloth from his loincloth and pressed it on his back wound before lowering Neteyam back onto the ground. Another cloth he pressed on his front wound. 

"Dad-" Neteyam tried to speak but another coughing fit came over him.

"It's okay, son. You need to keep pressure on his wound to help stop the bleeding." He said to the teens who all pressed their hands on Neteyam's wound. "We need to bring him to Ronal. She should be able to heal him." 

Jake looked around him, trying to spot Ronal or Tonowari but saw his mate Neytiri flying to them on her ikran. She dropped on the little rock island. "What is wrong?" she asked panicked at seeing the blood surrounding her son on the floor and the blood soaked hands of the others.

"He got shot, but he will be fine if we find Ronal immediately." Jake reassured her with his hand on her shoulder. "Did you saw her?"

"Yes, just saw her somewhere over there." Neytiri said quickly and pointed to the direction where she came from.

"Dad-" Neteyam tried again. "Le-"

"Don't speak son. It'll only hurt more." Jake said while stroking the braids from Neteyam's forehead. Jake and Neytiri looked around them, hoping to spot the Tsahik in the water or sky.

When they saw her flying in the distance they made sounds with their mouths to draw attention to the group on the rocks and sat back down when they were sure she spotted them and made her way to them.

"What happened here?" She asked the group while bringing her daughter into her arms glad that she is fine.

"Neteyam  is injured. Bullet wound. Please, can you help him?" Neytiri asked pleadingly as she looked at the woman.

"Of course." She looked at Neytiri then at her daughter. "Help him mount the skimwing with me. Tsireya, you come with me." 

Jake and Lo'ak, Neytriri and Ronal carefully carried him over to Ronal's skimwing and gently put him down. Ronal sat behind him and held him up, so he doesn't slump forward and down and begin to swam away back to the village.

The ear piece in his ear came to life again with Quaritch's voice. "Can you hear me, Corporal?" he sounded smug. "Yeah, yeah, I think you can. I got your daughters. Same deal as before. You for them."

Neytiri moved to mount her ikran again to follow Ronal and her son but Jake stopped her with a hand on her waist, then turned to Lo'ak. "Where are your sisters?" but Lo'ak wasn't responding, he was still in shock from seeing his brother hurt.

"They're still on the ship." Tsireya answered from her ilu instead. "They're still tied up on the ship." than she swam after her mother.

"They're at the moon pool. At... At the well deck. Midships." Spider said quickly. Seeing the confused look on Jake's face he added "Come on. I'll show you." he took Jake's arm and tried to pull him up.

"Talk to me, Corporal." the voice taunted. "I need something, Jake, or there's gonna be consequences."

"Yeah, I hear you." he clenched his jaw and looked to his mate.

"Let's go. They have our daughters." He looked Neytiri in the eyes while he held her cheek gently. She was crying silently, worried for her injured son. "I need you with me. And I need you to be strong. Right now." he put his hand over her heart. "Strong heart." 

Neytiri breathed heavily before reaching down and grabbing her bow. "Let's get our daughters." She nodded strongly and moved to her ikran, mounting it and flying away.

"Dad. I want to go with you." Lo'ak said when he broke out of his shocked trance, but Jake only shook his head. "You've done enough." he turned and walked away with Spider in tow. 

Lo'ak watched them go beneath the water with a sad expression on his face. He felt like something was missing and looked around himself. Where was his mate?

"Leyra?!"

No one else was there with him on the rock so he quickly went to the water, bonded with an ilu and swam towards the burning ship. He arrived at the place where he last saw her but she was not there in the water. "Leyra? Where are you?" he shouted and looked into the ship from the water.

There she was.

Coated in her own blood.

Unmoving. Eyes closed.

Lo'ak's eyes filled with tears. "No... Please." he sobbed. "Not her..please."

He was too late.

He could only watch when Lyle, a Avatar, grabbed her and took her away deeper into the ship.

✺ ┅*❋ ❋*┅ ✺

While Jake moved closer to where Quaritch and his daughters where he involuntary listened to the taunting voice of Quaritch again. "Talk to me, Corporal. The ship's going down and your girls with it. Your boy didn't have to die."

Jakes paused. Quaritch didn't know his son will live. But Kiri and Tuk didn't so they broke out in sobs when they heard the faint voice of Quaritch stating that their brother died.

"You brought that on yourself." Quaritch continued. "You thought you could keep your family safe but you can't. Only on way to keep them safe. So let's get this over with before you lose another kid."

Jake lost his patience and ignites a grenade, threw it to other weapons laying on the ship. He quickly gets cover with Spider and then a big explosion hits the remaining Avatars and soldiers, which results in the ship turning more sideways.

Neytiri jumped down from her ikran and starts fighting against the last Avatars and armed humans. A mothers rage should never be underestimated. Jake fought them with her until they were near Quaritch and their daughters.

A soldier fell in front of Quaritch. An arrow with green feathers pointing out of his torso.

"It's Mom!" Tuk exclaimed. 

"That's right." Kiri said strongly. "They're coming for you."

Jake arrived at the place a few minutes later where they held his daughters but he could only see his youngest at the railing. "Tuk!" he quickly freed her from the restraints. "Where's your sister? Where is she?" he asked hurriedly.

"That way." Tuk pointed with her fingers. From this direction Quaritch came out from the corner holding a knife to Kiri's throat. 

"Stay behind me." Jake muttered to Tuk while looking at Quaritch and his oldest daughter. 

"Running out of time, Corporal." Quaritch smirked. "You already lost one kid today. You really wanna lose another?"

Jake went to charge for him but Quaritch pressed the knife closer to the girls neck. "Just kill him, Dad!" she shouted.

"Kiri!"

"Weapons down!"

"Don't do it!"

"Down!"

Jake threw his weapons on the floor and kicked them away. 

"Cuff yourself." Quaritch threw cuffs to Jake.

In this moment Spider ran to them, who watching silently before "No! Don't hurt her, okay?" he stood a distance away from all of them, hands held up.

"Cuff yourself." he said again.

"Son of a bitch." Jake exclaimed before did as he was told.

"Please, don't hurt her." Spider tried again.

Out of nowhere Neytiri stood behind Spider, grabbed him and held her own knife against his throat. "Release. Or I cut." she looked at the Avatar angrily but calm.

"What, you think I care about some kid?" he answered and looked at the human boy disparaging. "He's not mine. We're not even the same species."

"Just please... don't... don't hurt her." Spider said, only saving Kiri on his mind. "Just please let her go."

"Don't kill him, Mom, please." Kiri looked at her mother with tears in her eyes, scared for Spider.

"A son for a son." Neytiri spit out raising her knife and cutting into Spiders chest, but not deep. "I cut." she tilted her head dangerously while holding eye contact with the Avatar.

"Please just let her go!" Spider cried and Neytiri raised her knife again, ready to stab the boy.

"No!" Quaritch shouted before holding his knife away from Kiri and throwing her down onto the ground away from himself

Kiri quickly crawled to her sister and father. Together they went to stand next to Spider and Neytiri. Eyes never leaving Quaritch. 

"Spider, take them away from here." Jakes ordered.

"Mama please, come." Tuk held onto her mothers arm, trying to drag her away. The girls and Spider went to the water and watching the scene unfold before them.

"You're not leaving, are you Jake?" The Avatar taunted. "Knowing I'm out there. Knowing that I'll never stop. I'm coming for you." He laughed. "And when I do, I'll kill your whole family."

The others watched Jake hesitating in the water.

"Then let's get it done." Jake charged forward and began fighting with his old boss. All the while the ship was sinking and fire starting to also erupt in the water so the others had to get back on the ship to get away from the fire. Unlikely they got separated as Tuk fell int a vent, Neytiri going after her.

Everyone was trying to not get trapped under ship in the water as it kept sinking and climbing to get on the top. Neytiri and Tuk got trapped somewhere inside the ship, not finding a way out. So are Jake and Quaritch who kept fighting with each other underwater.

Kiri and Spider saved themselves as they were above the water on the ship and desperately looking around them in the water in hopes to see their family appearing. Lo'ak joins them, still in shock but he's glad he saw his sister again.

Kiri noticed Lo'aks mood. "Where is Leyra?" she asked carefully and Lo'ak's face expression was enough for her.

"She... She was shot too... she was not moving... I couldn't get her. An Avatar took her." his voice trembled and he felt Spider and Kiri comforting him by touching his arm gently. 

Kiri swallowed hard. They would have time to mourn later. "Mom and Dad are down there. In the ship." she informed him. Lo'ak closes his eyes for a second, he needed to save his family first and then gave a nod to his sister and Spider.

The three of them took ahold of the ilu and swam down where the ship was. Kiri separates from them and bonded with the a sea creature that helps you breathe underwater and with the connection through Eywa she charmed the glowing gold fishes who then leads the way to her mother and sister.

The boys abandoned the ilu and swam lower in search of Jake but Spider found Quaritch, his father, instead. Spider was conflicted if he should help him or not. He was his father but he also hurt his real family who raised him.

Spider decided he couldn't just leave him there so he grabbed his father and dragged him out of the ship and up to the surface.

Meanwhile Lo'ak found his Dad and swam with him to an air pocket. "Dad, you need to breathe."

"Neteyam?"

"No Dad, its Lo'ak." He pressed his lips together.

"Oh Lo'ak." Jake breathed.

"I'm sorry sir. I'm sorry about Neteyam. It's all my fault." And Leyra's death is his fault too. His voice sounded slightly robotic. He was barely keeping it together. He didn't know how he should break the news about her to his brother.

"Just focus. Focus on now." Jake looked at his son.

"We need to go. We're losing the air pocket." he exclaimed. "Come on, Dad."

Jake panted laboriously. "You know your way out?"

"I think so. But, Dad, it's gonna be a long breath-hold."

"I can't make it. But you can, you can." Jake nodded reassuringly at his son.

"I can't loose you too, Dad, Please." Lo'ak pleaded.

"You just have to slow your heart down." the boy explained. "Be real calm. Breathe from here." He touched his dad's abdomen and breathes deep a few times together with his father. 

"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." he recites his mates words which made him teary-eyed. 

"The sea gives and the sea takes. 

Water connects all things. 

Life to death. 

Darkness to light."

"Dad, you can do this."

They took their last deep breath together and dived under the water. Halfway trough the way they see the glowing fishes who help guide them back to the surface and with the help of the tulkun they stay afloat catching their breath.

Jake turned to his younger son and held him by the face. "I see you, son." bringing their foreheads together.

"Ma Jake!" Neytiri exclaimed and the females of the Sully family swam towards Jake and Lo'ak. Together they gathered on the fin of Payakan, breathing hard in exhaustion.

"Let's get back to the village and to Neteyam." Jakes said and that's exactly what they did after catching their breath.

✺ ┅*❋ ❋*┅ ✺

After the eclipse ended and the sun shined again Spider found himself on some rocks with Quaritch, who breathed heavily to get his breathing under control. Two ikrans landed on the rocks, one which was Quaritch's and the other was occupied by Lyle and the unconscious form of a mixed water and forest Na'vi.

Spider looked at the girl draped on Lyles lap and saw two wounds, one on her stomach, the other on her leg. Noticing the slow rise and fall of her chest he made a decision when his father asked him to come with them.

The four of them flew away on the ikrans.

the end.

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