alien; lo'ak

⥤ Spider, Part One ⥢

⥤ Spider, Part One ⥢

Spider is strapped to a machine. A machine spins around him, his eyes struggling to stay open. He groans, the pain increasing.

"Where is Jake Sully?" He is questioned by General Ardmore.

The machine displays his brain, and more specifically his thoughts. Spider does everything he can to not picture Jake, (Y/N), or the Ometikaya's home.

Quaritch walks in to observe the torture, eager for results on Jake's whereabouts. He wears an oxygen mask, as he is inside breathing in human air.

The machine's whirring speeds up. Spider's nose begins to bleed. He's close to losing consciousness, and the estranged father can't take it.

Quaritch goes to turn the machine off, much to the disapproval of General Ardmore. He leans in to whisper to her, "Let me take a more .. personal .. approach."

She doubts it. "That's not your son."

She reluctantly allows it. The machine powers down, and Spider's head falls in exhaustion. Others carry Spider off.

Quaritch sighs. He's happy to meet his son, but he's more determined to track down Jake. Does he do what it takes to find him, or does he get closer to his son?

Why not both.

-

Spider is awake and well, banging on the glass of the observation room and shouting for his release.

He continues shouting, eventually in the language of the Na'vi. Then, he uses a chair in an attempt to break the glass.

Quaritch comes in. Spider immediately tries to escape, but the door shuts behind his father. The large Avatar picks up his son, putting him on the table and easily restraining him. Spider hisses the whole time.

Quaritch sees the bouncing baby boy he's always wanted. He lets go of Spider, holding his hands up as a sign of peace.

He slowly sits down. Spider curls up, with his knees to his chest. The teen avoids eye contact.

Quaritch allows some silence to pass, before finally speaking. "You feel .. at home with Jake?" He watches Spider's body movement closely. "Have they accepted you?"

Spider's eyes move, giving Quaritch a reaction to work with.

The Avatar stands up. "You're an alien to them, aren't you?"

Spider tries to tune out his father, knowing Jake and his friends love him for who he is. He knows he has a support system, like (Y/N) and Norm.

"You won't be alien to me, son." Quaritch paces, still keeping a respectful distance from his son. "I know I'm not .. human anymore. But you and me, we're the same..." He points to his chest "...in here."

Spider rolls his eyes, thinking this is cheesy.

"Let me make it up to you. We can do something you like to do." Quaritch baits Spider, hoping that if they do something fun together, Spider can grow to trust and help him.

Spider, on the other hand, finds humor in it all. He plans his escape. "I know something we can do."

-

Spider and Quaritch leave the base, along with the other reanimated soldiers in their Avatars.

Spider's plans of escape become difficult, as his oxygen mask has a built in tracker. But the teen's fighting spirit won't give up that easily.

Once landed and away from their aircraft, Spider challenges his father to be a true Na'vi. This ends up excluding the use of the native language, as Quaritch is awful at speaking it. Spider laughs.

"What is it that you wanted to do?" The Avatar asks his son, frustrated at the teen laughing at him.

"I'll tell you when we get there." Spider half takes off, knowing if he runs too fast, the soldiers may shoot him. But then again, he can't run too far if he's being tracked.

Spider leads everyone up into the mountains, getting a kick at how everyone else is out of breath. But not him, she's grown up doing this with the Sullys.

"Are we there yet?" Quaritch is getting irritated.

Spider cheekily points to the waterfall. "Just on the other side."

The Avatars are cautious. They cross the waterfall to see the nesting place of the ikrans. They aim their guns in defense. Spider, on the other hand, scoffs. He walks easily, knowing the ikrans won't attack him.

"What are we doing here?" Quaritch asks.

"You want to be Na'vi?" Spider points to the banshees. "You gotta ride one of these." He smirks.

The Avatars hesitate, but lower their guns at the leader's command.

Spider taunts his father. "Jake's done it."

Quaritch puts his gun on the ground. He walks through, eyes glancing at his son. "How do I know which one?"

Then, an ikran hisses at him. Quaritch hisses back.

"He'll try to kill you!" Spider hopes his father's defeat will lead to his freedom.

Quaritch begins to battle with his ikran. He dodges the creature's teeth and claws. His son lets out comments during his failure.

"Did I mention you need to restrain them, so they don't bite you?" "That's not right." "That's not how Jake did it."

Hearing Jake's name fuels Quaritch's anger. The banshee can sense this tension in battle.

The two topple over the edge.

Spider's breathing pauses. He runs to look down, seeing nothing below. The soldiers are just as shocked, unaware at what to do next.

Spider questions himself, and how he begins to worry for his father.

Just as everyone is about to leave, Quaritch flies up on his new animal companion. He shouts in victory, all the marines joining in.

Spider smiles.