A New Cycle

Tying Loose Ends

  Landing in the trees above him, I watched as Quatrich observed the remains of the shuttle with clear disgust, before rolling the shoulders of his AMP suit and moving through the jungle. I followed at a distance, keeping him in my sights. 

  He came upon a clearing, with the other side clearly being the shack holding Jake and the rest of the Avatar drivers. He started to move towards it, though he was stopped by his suit sinking up to its waist in the dirt below his feet. He tried to jerk himself free, though he stopped as I finally jumped into view. I eyed him coldly, as he disconnected himself from the suit, popping the glass open after putting on an oxygen mask.

  "How's it feel to betray your own kind?" He asked, glaring at me in obvious disgust.

  "I don't know, how's it feel to be a washed-up parasite?" I replied coldly, eyes locked on him.

  He snarled, hand reaching down to his gun, though he was very shocked to find that he couldn't move his arm. His brow furrowed, and he grew more confused that he couldn't move at all. Looking to me, his eye widened at seeing that my arm was outstretched, hand flexed.

  "Not my favorite technique, but I couldn't think a more worthy adversary to use it on."

  His eyes grew wider as I moved towards him, his eyes showing how desperately he was struggling against my blood bending. I crouched down to meet his eyes, taking the gun from his holster and the knife from his belt. Placing my hand on his throat, I lifted him from the ground, raising him so that he was level with my shoulder, using enough pressure to cut off his oxygen flow but not enough to break his neck.

  "How does it feel? To have your life stolen from you while being helpless to stop it?"

  My voice was almost robotic, my lack of emotion alarming Quatrich as his eyes screamed out for mercy. I had always felt some kind of emotion when I killed someone, though showing it had been beaten out of me a long time ago. This was the first time that I felt a sick satisfaction as I watched his eyes streaming with tears, his face turning purple at the lack of oxygen.

  I finally snapped his neck, dropping his body to the floor with a sickening thud. I observed it with detached eyes, before finally turning, looking to the Na'vi the surrounded the clearing with intrigue.

  "Gather the dead."

.....................

  We were able to get in contact with Max, who let us know that the forces left behind had taken control of Hell's Gate, ensuring that any soldiers that had returned fully surrendered, jailing any that didn't. He was working with some of the pilots to work out a way to get all of the soldiers and head honchos back to the station waiting in orbit to send them back home. He and most of the other scientists would be hanging back, those that didn't have Avatars determined to make some, and those that did were hoping to do what I did.

  The fight didn't come without a cost, however. Trudy ended up getting gunned down by Quatrich while I was preoccupied with Tsu'tey. Eytukan was MIA, no one really knew what had happened to him, and several search parties were sent out, which eventually led to his body being found, riddled with bullet holes. 

  Their funerals were grim affairs, Mo'at kind enough to allow Trudy to be buried beside the rest of our fallen allies in the roots of the Tree of Souls. We stood, humans and Na'vi alike, mourning the loss of our friends and comrades, commending their souls to Eywa.

  The tribes began to leave a week after the funerals, the ones farthest away leaving first. We were sure to see them off, giving them plenty of supplies for the journey and well wishes for the future.  The leaders promised to help with any future conflicts, though I reassured them that any future human encounters wouldn't be happening.

  The soldiers heading back were returning with a personalized message from me, declaring that any further attempts at human settlement would be declared an act of war, one that I would gladly take care of personally. Selfridge himself was to deliver it, along with first hand accounts of the somewhat limited accounts of the scope of my abilities. They were also instructed to find the Order if they wanted further details into just how far I would go.

  Sully released Toruk back into the wild, no longer needed in what would finally be a lasting age of peace now that the human were gone.

  The tribe were staying at the Tree of Souls for another week, wrapping up a few loose ends. A familiar scene, with just a few more people, greeted me as I carried Grace's human body through the crowd, careful not to step on anyone's hair or tails. Neytiri followed me with Jake's body, gently setting them beside their respective Avatars.

  Mo'at led the tribe, their chanting a low rumbling, their bodies swaying rhythmically as pulses of energy moved through the ground towards the tree. She began to move in almost seizure-like fashion, her eyes rolling back into her head as she chanted almost unintelligibly. I held Tsu'tey's hand as we watched over their bodies, and I was almost transfixed as I felt their souls shift into their new bodies.

  Both their eyes flew open as they finally woke up, and I smiled at them as they looked over the rest of the tribe with brand new eyes.

  The future looked bright.