Towards Love

41.disillusion

Zeltron grunted under the threat of the knife and Neteyam got even angrier. "Surprised to see me, little Sully?" Quaritch laughed evilly. He pointed to Spider with a disdainful shake of his head. "Did he tell you that he saved my life during our last little... altercation?" Seeing the young Na'vi's increasingly angry face, his smile widened, "Of course he didn't tell you, or at least not right away, he didn't want to risk being disowned by the only family he ever had." 

"Let him go." Neteyam spoke calmly but threateningly, his eyes fixed on Zeltron who was suffocating more and more as Quaritch pressed his knife on his neck. "Oh I'll keep him a bit longer so you don't do anything stupid. I'm thinking of you, you know." Neteyam was trying to think. He had to find a way to free Zeltron, get information from Quaritch about where he was keeping his son and then kill him. It was a lot and he didn't really know how to get out of it or prioritise these actions. Spider might have understood his state of mind because he spoke in his place. "Stop the threats, you are not in a dominant position. Why are you coming forward now after all these years? If I let you live it was so you would leave us alone and learn from your mistakes." 

"Since when did you grow a personality son? Are you trying to prove something?" Spider's gaze darkened. Sighing in annoyance, Quaritch continued. "You left me in a rather critical state and lost in the middle of an ocean I didn't know. My entire squad had been decimated by that crazy female, yes, your mama boy."

"Don't talk about my mother like that." Neteyam bared his teeth, threatening. "Or what? You're going to kill me?" A trickle of blood appeared on Zeltron's neck and he groaned in pain. "Anyway, thanks to my ikran I managed to make it to the continent. But I was completely lost. I have wandered for years without ever getting close to your beloved village. It drove me crazy, I had to fight against those pesky critters that populate the flora and find a way to survive by hunting and recognizing edible plants. Then, one day, I came across the military base. I was so relieved to be back in a known area. I wanted to get in but a few years had passed and I suspected that after the ocean battle fiasco the people I had worked with had surely been sent back to Earth and no one would recognise me and mistake me for one of you and shoot me." His eyes went blank, thinking back on his lonely adventures. Neteyam thought to himself that he might soon catch him by surprise and free Zeltron. "So I decided to settle there. I knew about this place because we had done several patrols in the area back when I just arrived  on this planet. That way, I could know what the military was up to and find my way towards you. So I started to observe you and your dear village. I learned about your schedules, your habits, how you lived. I saw your family growing up." He gave Neteyam a mischievous look. "You've also given me some tips on how to survive and I must admit that I am quite grateful. But Spider, seeing you interact with them as if you were one of them disgusted me. Son, you're human you could never be like them, why can't you see that?"

This was too much for the young Na'vi who took a step forward to approach their captor. Spider barely held on to his arm. "Instead of pushing him around like that, you should be praising him for saving your life you bastard. He wanted to be loyal to a father he hoped was still alive, but obviously you were fucking with him all along. Anyway, now he knows he's only ever had one family and that's ours." 

"In any case, if I have another opportunity to help you, know that I will leave you to rot in the mud without regret." Quaritch had apparently not expected his son to speak, for a shadow of disappointment passed over his eyes while hearing these words. Neteyam seizes this chance. He armed his spear, signalled Zeltron to move back as far as possible and threw it towards Quaritch. Surprised by the attack, the ex-military man dropped his hostage and moved away the best he could. The spear grazed his entire arm, leaving a line of blood where it had torn the skin, and came to rest behind him. Screaming with rage, Quaritch grabbed his fallen knife and lunged at Neteyam. Zeltron tripped him and he almost fell, giving the young man and Spider some time to get behind him and exchange positions. He now had his back to the wall of his hut and they had their backs to the entrance, making it easier to escape if necessary. "You are alone bastard, what are you going to do against us?" 

"I'll kill you one by one." He was panting due to his bad condition. Neteyam almost  flt bad for him. "Tell us what you did with my son or I swear to Eywa I'm ending you right here, right now." 

"You and your stupid god. I'm not scared of you, you might have grown up, be stronger and know a lot more about combat you're never winning against me."

"Yeah? Wanna try?" Quaritch did not hesitate and threw himself at Neteyam. He also threw himself in his direction and they rolled on the ground, throwing punches and knives at each other. Spider and Zeltron didn't know what to do, they were moving too much to be sure they would only hit their enemy. Neteyam smashed his fist into his opponent's temple and the latter tried to dig his knife into his ribs. The young man narrowly avoided it but the blade grazed him, sending a wave of pain. They exchanged blows until Neteyam managed to get him to drop his knife, take hold of it and stick the tip into his enemy's neck. Enough to hurt him but not enough to kill him. Quaritch was lying panting and grimacing with pain, Neteyam crouched over him, threatening him firmly, his eyes full of rage. "Now that you've calmed down, tell me. Where. Is. My. Son."

"I left him in a cave, I knew it wasn't a good idea to keep him there too long."

"Where is this cave."

"Do you really want me to give you all the clues to this treasure hunt?" Even at death's door, he managed to be provocative. Neteyam pushed the knife further into his flesh. This time Quaritch screamed in pain. When the young Na'vi released the pressure a little, he gasped. "Where?" the warrior asked simply. "In the mountains. I could accompany you there..."

"Absolutely not." Neteyam turned around to give his orders to Zeltron. "Take Ionia and start looking in the mountains we'll join you once I'm done with him. And tell Noxus to come here to replace you. The hunter nodded and ran outside ready to execute the order his just got from the chief's son. Spider was looking at the scene with clenched jaw and a closed face. He certainly wasn't going to hold his friend back this time. As Noxus entered the hut and Neteyam turned back to Quaritch, the ex-military man had taken advantage of this moment of inattention to grab a grenade that the young man did not remember spotting. He must have hidden it on him. He widened his eyes and pushed his enemy away when he uncorked it. He barely had time to yell at Spider and Noxus to run, to find himself right in front of the entrance and to see Quaritch coming out quickly when the explosion was heard and he felt himself propelled in the air.

Author's note
I like this one a lot. Hold your breath for what's coming :) Don't forget to vote and comment!