Late Night P1 | Rough Draft | fin

Painful Partings

"So what exactly is the plan here? After she leaves we just let all hell break loose?" Norm asks as he leans into his desk.
"If what she's saying has some truth to it, and we do this, we're sabotaging everything."

"I die either way, don't I?" Grace shrugs. "I may as well save them while I can. Everything she has given us so far has held up, every little present detail, every little future detail.
I won't sit here and let it unfold if I can stop it."

"And again, how do you plan on doing this? The Na'vi don't even talk to us. They don't want to see us." Norm nearly yells in frustration. "This whole thing is too much to ask."

"If Quaritch truly is the one who kills me in the end." Grace leans back and kicks her feet up. "-then I may as well seek my revenge before he gets me first. Jake will feed them modified and incorrect intel.
We will have to replicate him meeting Neytiri... because if we all try to join him - it may not work. The lesser, the better."

"So you want to follow her words, essentially? Recreate it all up until what point?" Jake asks.

"I need you to get used to them, learn their way. Graduate. Truly adapt to their clan and become one with them."
Grace says.
"—-But this time, you'll tell them up front what's coming, and you'll help them prepare for this. It seems waiting the full three months out gave Quaritch an advantage, so this time we will need to act first."

"That's a lot to ask from me." Jake admits. "I'm not-"

"Don't." Grace scolds him like a child.
"You can do this, you know you can. According to her, you've done it before. I believe in it."

"This is some insane leap we are taking here off of someone's dream, Grace." Norm insists.

Jake's alarm goes off then, and everyone's expressions drop as it does.

An hour left until you have to go.

Trudy leaves the room just as Jake comes in, and you were grateful for the few minutes you got to spend with her.

"Jake." You barely reach out before you're sobbing in tears all over again.
"I'm so scared."

He pulls you into his lap, legs over his arm rest and your forehead touching his.
"It's going to be okay, I promise you. No matter what happens or how much time goes by, I will wait for you. I don't care if we're here or there, I'll find you again."

You hate the long walk down to the end — that same door you came in through so long ago.

Was now your last one as you were due to exit for your shuttle.

You're accompanied by some military guys, a last ditch effort from Quaritch to keep you in line.

They hold the door open for quite some time, as it's set to stay that way for at least five minutes at a time for the oncoming rows of shipments.

Jake, Grace, Trudy, and Norm all stand at the other end.

Glass separating the both of you as you watch them.

You're off to the side, letting the cargo through as a military officer holds you to the wall.

And they're all spread out, watching every last second they can of you as the cargo turns into another hallway just before them.

Jake's eyes are beyond red as he can't bare to face this without breaking apart.

You barely see another figure come up out of the corner of your eye, and it's Quaritch.

You can't hear them, but he pulls something from Jake's wheelchair - presumably a hidden microphone he set up when this shit all started.

And that's when you see him swing for Grace, and next thing you know she's on the floor.

It's not much effort having to kick away at the one who holds you back, especially with no restraints.

You're able to lose the others in the giant rows of cargo coming in, and use it as an escape to get back to your family.

Jake is restrained to his chair as Quaritch holds a gun to Norm's head. Threatening to pull it if he even thinks of moving.

He kicks at Grace again as she slowly moves while Trudy is crouched down to help, and you know you're running out of time to get them the hell out of here.

Perhaps it's just luck that you find a fire extinguisher on the wall, and maybe it's a sign from Eywa as she gives you just what you need to knock Quaritch out from behind.

The whole scene is strangely similar to before, when you and the others were racing down the hallway to break out of jail and get into one of the aircraft.

Except this time, your one and only job was to get back to the driver room and erase as much of Grace's current intel on the Na'vi before it was too late.

Everything Jake turned in yesterday to cover the past month of progress was a dud, and Quaritch saw right through it as it didn't match with past reports.

An idiotic mistake Jake made in an attempt to hold him off.

You all sharply turn the corner — just outside the room now as Norm tries to get the door open.

And it's the heavy breathing that gets to you, followed by a rough and wheezing voice as he saunters over to you.

Silver hair and all like last time.

You're all cornered in this room, and beg for Grace to take off with Trudy as he gets closer and closer.

Norm tries to grab for you, but it's too late. You're doing what you can to keep Quaritch off and buy them some time — even as his blade strikes smack dab in the middle of your abdomen.

And Jake's face is the last thing you see before you fall to your end.

"Give her some space.
She's coming back."
Norms voice suddenly clouds your mind, echoing so far off into the distance as you feel yourself moving closer and closer.

How was he here?
How were you here?
Was this... did you all fail and end up within Eywa now?

Quaritch finally fulfilled what he haunted you with for so long, but was that truly the end of his reign?

You hear the saddened sounds of someone crying, and you can make it out as Grace.
Who's now holding your hand so warmly as you can't even find the strength to open your eyes.

You feared what would happen when you did.

"How much longer?" Max's voice comes through. He sounds like he's next to Norm, probably duo-checking your vitals.

"Not much.
I'm getting a much stronger reading." He hands the tablet to Max, and shows him the different places. "Any minute now."

Your head hurts again, of course.
And you can now feel the tight bandage around your forehead - although you don't remember Quaritch striking you there.
The pain and soreness would all be in your gut, would it not?

Norm leans in, and you can tell by the way he's listening for your breathing.
"Hey." He says so softly, checking if you react to him in any way.
"It's time to wake up. You've been out for far too long. Don't make me come in there."

You wish you could laugh at the sarcastic, empty threat he offers.

"Five more seconds." Norm gives a best guess, and it's like you're shocked awake at the end of his countdown.