Jake Sully x AvatarDriver!Reader X Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite
this is an ongoing rewrite of the first movie with a reader insert :p
it's all i can think about, maybe it'll be quick, maybe it'll take forever but this is my baby and by proxy, u dear reader, are my baby and i'll take care of you in this journey 😛
Jake’s first few attempts at recording logs are… awkward to say the least. He’s stiff and very obviously making it clear he does not want to be doing them. He sighs as he sits next to you, waiting for you to finish your very long and complicated rendition of the events from the day. When you finish, he rolls into your previous spot while Grace looks through her samples in the back of the video.
“Okay. This is video log 12. Times 21:32.” He sighs with the most pitiful puppy dog eyes before turning around to Grace. “Do I have to do this now? I really need to get some rack.”
“No. Now.” Grace deadpans, barely looking up from her microscope. “When it’s fresh.” He sighs again, looking anywhere but the camera. His gaze lands on you, and he smiles, nodding towards the camera. “Help me, pretty girl. Ours won’t be any different anyway.” You feel your own sigh build in your chest. He’s not wrong, but you go into fairly long tangents about the fauna on Pandora.
“I really think we’re supposed to do it separately.”
“Since when do I care? At least sit with me, help me if I forget anything.” He smirks, he knows he’s milking this ‘helpless with anything biology related’ and it keeps fucking working with you. You're a sucker for a sad face, really. It’s pathetic.
So of course, you scoot your chair into the view of the screen and help Jake recount the day's events.
“Okay, location, shack, and the days are starting to blur together.” Once he starts treating it like a spoken diary, he gets better, but the poor dude cannot, for the life of him, start a log normally.
“The language is a pain, but, you know, I figure it's like field-stripping a weapon. Just repetition, repetition.”
You take to the language significantly better than Jake, which is to be expected considering you have the background knowledge of the fauna and their scientific and common names. He enunciates too much, and you can tell it’s getting onto Neytiri’s nerves.
She starts by teaching you both anatomy words. She’s quizzing Jake, pointing to her big, pretty, and golden eyes, and she waits for Jake to tell her the correct name.
“Navi.” Jake attempts, and Neytiri loses just the tiniest bit more of her patience. She leans forward, her ears pinning backwards. “Nari.”
“Nari.” Jake chops out, and she leans forward, stressing the rolled r with a grimace of annoyance. “Narrrri.”
“Narrri,” Jake repeats impatiently, and she huffs, smacking him with a dull thud. “Enough. Sevin ‘eve, you go. Here.” You don’t even have time to correct her before she’s pointing towards her neck, and you murmur the answer petulantly, “pewn“.
It’s a little embarrassing because Jake constantly calls you ‘pretty girl’, and Neytiri’s taken to doing the same. Jake’s a little too pleased by it, Neytiri giving you the same nickname. It’s also caught on literally everywhere else. Grace smirks every time she says it, and Norm and Trudy giggle like two stupid kids. You’re not sure at this point if you’d even recognize your real name being called. But if anyone we’re to ask…it sounds the best coming from Neytiri.
It turns your stomach, the hold Jake and Neytiri have on you. Within weeks, you’ve decided that Jake is the best friend you’ve ever had. And you’ve only just met him. But, he’s a softie under that ‘thick skin’ routine. He constantly looks for you, in both forms. You can’t be away from him more than a minute before he’s searching for you, a worried glint in his eye. You wish it didn’t give you butterflies every time you saw it.
Neytiri is no better for your poor, lonely heart. She’s significantly nicer to you than she is to Jake. However, she’s no less touchy with either one of you. She’s a very hands-on tutor. You thought you might actually faint as she was teaching you how to use a bow. She’s pressed herself against your back, her breath puffing against the back of your neck as she adjusts your hold and aim. “You are…tsk.” She huffs, leaving your back to push against the front of your abdomen. “Txur ni'ul. Stronger here.” She corrects your aim with quick precision, nodding for you to loosen the arrow. You watch as she does the same for Jake. Straight smacking him around to correct him. You have to turn away before either of them can catch you with an amused smile on your face. Jake’s exactly where he wants to be; the poor guy doesn’t even flinch as Neytiri gives him hell.
“Neytiri calls me skxawng. It means moron.” Jake murmurs into the video log, you look away as he gives you a pointed, playful side-eye. “She calls her Sevin ‘eve. Any guesses as to what that means?” He snarks to the camera, a faux look of irritation plastered on his face. “Pretty girl.”
“The fuckin’ cherry on top. She treats her like fuckin’ glass.” Jake sighs, throwing his head back in exasperation, and throwing his thumb in your direction. “I mean, I would too, but maybe I want the princess treatment every once in a while.”
You give him a nasty look, and he chokes back a smile. “What? It’s true!”
“It’s girlhood. You’re a guy. You wouldn’t get it.” You huff, leaning back in your seat as you aimlessly doodle on a notepad. It helps you stay concentrated when doing the video logs. Doesn’t help much when Jake gets off-topic. What can you say? You’re a cold-blooded yapper.
“It’s…what’s it called when women are sexist against men?”
“Don’t even go there.”
“Misandry.” Norm supplies from the back, and all three women in the trailer lab snap their heads to give him the nastiest looks. He gives an awkward wince, shrugging. “He asked! I’m sorry.”
“He asked.” Trudy mocks in a high-pitched imitation of Norm, flicking the back of his head.
Jake stifles a laugh, and you turn back with a sharp look. “Norm’s taking the heat for you, and you’re laughing?”
“I’m sorry, baby, alright? Just making a joke. It was stupid. You know I’m stupid. You and Neytiri have something I never will.” He grins and says "baby" without so much as a blink, and goddamn, does it reset your brain. You feel your face heat up, and you blink, avoiding looking at Jake or the camera. He knows he’s off the hook, well, with you at least. He shouldn’t be too sure about Grace or Trudy.
“Yeah, whatever.” You murmur, scribbling harder on the notepad as a way to distract yourself. He grins at you before reaching to shut the camera off.
You’re woken up one morning by Grace, “C’mon, kid. We gotta run back to the base to grab a few more supplies.”
You feel your brows knit together in irritation; it’s still dark outside the trailer. Has this woman lost her goddamn mind? You wish you could bitch and tell her to take Norm, but you know that would go over like a lead balloon. So…you just roll out from your bed, clothes wrinkled and mussed with sleep. “Gonna have to grab Jake’s exopack-”
“He’s not coming, just get yours.”
You give her a sharp look, almost a glare, underneath the grumpy pout. “What, why? That’s not fair, he’s gonna go hang out with Ney-”
“Shut up.” Grace huffs impatiently, throwing clean clothes towards you. “He and Norm will stay at the site and practice the Na’vi language. Eywa knows he needs the help. You don’t know much better than Jake, and I need someone with me who knows what tools to grab. I don’t need someone to get me a beaker when I ask for an Erlenmeyer flask. So, you’re the only choice since Norm’s staying here.” She’s following Trudy out the door before you can give much of an argument. You feel your eye twitch before throwing on the clothes Grace gave you. You know she’s right, damn, she makes you so fucking angry sometimes.
The flight was quick, still foggy, but not nearly as bad as it was when you first arrived. The base is as sweltering as ever. The pavement and blacktop are doing fuckall to redistribute the heat from the sun. Trudy stays behind with the craft to do some repairs. And Grace spends maybe a whole year talking with Max Patel and a few other scientists whose names your brain is too tired to recall. But her bag is packed full of supplies, and you have been eyeing the canteen door since you walked in. Since she’s got everything she needs, you take the executive decision to get yourself some food.
With a plate full of grub, you happily make your way to an empty table and just stuff your face. You’re surrounded by hired guns who are eating even more disastrously than you are. You do not care whatsoever. Except someone does sit across from you, you glance up with wide eyes and cheeks full.
There sits an amused Colonel Miles Quaritch. You almost choke on the mouthful of food. You regret eating like you were starved. Fuck. He snorts, an amused smile on his face as he waves you off. “You’re fine, finish your food.”
When you finish, he does not wait for you to speak. “So, Augustine brings you here instead of Jake. He needs to report back to me. I hope Augustine realizes that.”
“Oh, uh, probably, but I think today was supposed to be a short trip.” You murmur, fixing the sleeve of your shirt. “I can let her know you asked about it today?”
“That’d be peachy, honey. But I, uh, got another question for ya.”
“Sure,” You smile politely, waiting for him to continue.
“See, I’ve just recently lost a member of my ground exploration team. And well, I was wondering if you’d want to sign up for the position since you’ve got a good lay of the land here, sorta like a tour guide. It wouldn’t be an armed position…and it would extend your stay on Pandora heavily. I know Jake’s rotating after he finishes here to get his legs back, but I wasn’t sure what your plans were.” He gives you a look like he already knows the answer. “Whaddya say, honey?”
You blank. You hadn’t given ‘after’ much thought. But a chance to stay here, indefinitely for the time being… It's very tempting. And Jake doesn’t owe you a thing after his contract is up; you’re even excited at the thought of him getting the ability to walk back. He’s plenty capable now, but when he’s piloting the Avatar, you’ve truly never seen him happier. He deserves to get that independence back, and who knows if you’ll even keep in touch after. God, you hope so, but there’s never any guarantees.
“I…how long?”
“As long as you can do it. Six years for sure,” Quaritch answers smoothly, leaning forward with his hands bunched together. “I get it might be a tough decision, but I can really only ask ya this once.”
You don’t want to lose the opportunity to stay here. To be with and study actual, real wild animals again, not just genetically modified creatures stuck in cement zoos. Maybe you’ll see Jake again, you surmise. You don’t even come from the same city on Earth, would either of you be willing to uproot your entire lives to live near each other? The thought almost makes you smile; you've both already uprooted your lives to go to space. How difficult would a little over a thousand miles be? Maybe when you finish here, you’ll move to Jake’s city, be set for life for the money you’ve made here. It’s a pretty solid idea.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
“Wonderful, I knew ya’d take the deal. Needed someone capable on the team, too. If you wanna follow me real quick, we can get the paperwork signed, and you’ll be set to start working whenever needed.”
Walking back to the lab after your meeting with Quaritch is a little surreal. You know everyone here is just on a job, but you can’t help but feel a little like you just sold your soul away. You’re probably overthinking it.
Grace doesn’t even question your absence, just grabs her bags with an easy grin. “Let's go, kid.”
The tarmac is busier than when you first landed this morning; it makes sense. More activity happens later in the morning. You and Trudy are helping Grace pack the helicopter before Lyle Wainfleet approaches Trudy with a grin. She chats with him for a hot second before he glances at you. His grin gets even bigger. “Hey, JW! Heard you’d be joining our team after you’re finished here. Glad to hear it.”
Grace gives you a questioning look, and you wince, ignoring it for now. You give him a polite, very awkward smile, “Uh, yeah, thanks…sorry, um, JW is not my name, it’s actually-.”
“Jake’s Woman,” Lyle interrupts you with a tight-lipped smile. “My bad, a few of the boys could not remember your name, but you’re always with Jake. It just stuck.” He quickly makes his retreat, practically skedaddling away. Grace can’t hold back the snort. You have got to be fucking kidding me, you think to yourself, stewing in embarrassment.
“Do not tell Jake.” You manage to mutter out, face shamefully hot.
“No way in hell I’m not. Kid’s gonna be over the moon.” Grace grins easily, jumping into the cockpit. “Get in, JW.”
“This is demeaning, Grace.”
Jake’s avatar is getting faster every day. You suppose yours is too, since she can keep up with him and Neytiri. The callouses that have grown make your feet stronger, too, and more resilient to rough surfaces. Jake talks about running in almost every one of his video logs.
Currently, Neytiri is sprinting up a tree, and Jake’s not far behind her. You get a little jealous of their athleticism. Neytiri just launching off the tree branch and catching herself with one hand makes it a little worse. Jake follows with ease, landing a little harder. You know you can’t hesitate, or you will fucking fall. So, throwing all caution to the wind, you land with a stumble behind Jake, a hysterical giggle falling from your lips. He grins, pulling you after him. “C’mon, pretty girl, I’m dying to give Pale a ride.”
“Every day it's reading the trails, the tracks at the waterhole, the tiniest scents and sounds.”
Neytiri actually intimidates the fuck out of you. She’s the apex predator in the forest. Jesus, you do not want to be on the other end of her skills. She’s terrifyingly good at finding even the smallest details that indicate prey when she takes you and Jake hunting. Tracking down a viperwolf, nantang, and her pups. You tilt your head forward, almost cooing at the cubs. Jake glances at you, studying your face. You’re in your element here, just observing the natural processes of life. You should always look so peaceful.
Neytiri’s head bumps yours as she leans closer, “three, pxey.” You hum with a nod, squinting.
“Yeah, aren’t typical litters around 4-6?” You turn your head to look at her, but she’s already facing you. She nods, her eyes flickering across the bioluminescent dots on your cheeks. “Yes. Must be ngäzìk, hard, year.”
Jake pats your thigh when the viperwolf turns its head in your direction when it hears you and Neytiri talk. “Time to go, girls.”
“Neytiri’s always going on about the flow of energy, the spirits of animals…” Jake sighs into the view of the camera, glancing at you. You had been sketching the viperwold and her cubs from earlier, but had fallen asleep on your notebook. He sighs again, brushing a stray piece of hair from your face. “I really hope this tree-hugger crap isn't on the final.”
Grace, who had once again been in the background looking at samples, looks up from her microscope at Jake’s bitching. “This isn't just about eye-hand coordination out there, you know. You need to listen to what she says. Try to see the forest through her eyes.”
Jake smiles, thumbing towards the camera, “Excuse me. This is my video log here.” Jake glances back towards the camera, and then you. He reaches for the camera, and suddenly the screen turns black.
He nudges you gently, waking you from your impromptu nap. “C’mon, pretty girl. Go to bed.” You groan, red sleep patterns printed on your face. You glance at your top bunk, suddenly regretting every decision that ever led to you picking that fucking thing to sleep in every night. Jake snorts, seeing the disgruntled look on your face. He smiles that stupid, pretty smile and offers up the silver platter of the evening. “You can lay down with me, if you want, sleepy.”
You, still half asleep, immediately take him up on it. Crawling to the far inside of his bottom bunk. Making yourself comfortable as if you were in your own bed. You don’t even wake up when he scoots himself in, too.
You wake up in the morning, Jake’s arm is over your waist, but there’s basically a whole ass ravine between you two with the space he left. Small slivers of the sun poke through the curtains, giving Jake angelic backlighting. You almost regret signing up for extra time on Pandora, letting Jake go back to Earth by himself. Neytiri suddenly pops up in your brain, but…even if you left with Jake, she’s supposed to be mated with Tsu’tey when they are ready. And you aren’t sure she even considers you a friend…you at least hope Jake does.
The sudden sound of Grace clearing her throat makes your head snap towards her. She smiles smugly, mouthing ‘JW.’ The mental calculation of days that Grace hasn’t pissed you off ticks back down to zero. You flip back over, looking towards the wall. Jake’s breath puffs against your neck, and you realize that you’re gonna have to stop worrying about what’s going to happen after. Enjoy it now, while it lasts at least.
The powdered eggs and genetically modified sausage you’re served for breakfast have nothing on the teylu you ate last night. Grace makes up for the lackluster breakfast with her rendition of the events from the day before.
“The last thing we see is this Marine's ass disappearing into the brush, he’s dragging my wildlife biologist with him, with this angry thanator coming after him.” The scientists around the table laugh, some especially harder at the embarrassed heat that creeps up your cheeks. Jake shakes his head with a sly grin. “Hey, it’s not something you can teach.”
He nods towards you, “I saved her ass, at least. Give me some props for that.” You roll your eyes, flicking a lone piece of egg towards him. “Whatever.”
“You know, for reasons I cannot fathom, the Omaticaya have chosen you two.” Grace levels Jake with an exasperated look, “God help us all.” Jake grins at Grace’s muttering with a shrug, and you snort, noticing Norm’s distasteful look from across the table. You wonder what that’s about.
Jake invites you to meet Quaritch after breakfast. You accept, still under the impression that the man is somewhat funny. You trail behind Jake’s wheelchair like a lost puppy as he chats with Quaritch. Then, it’s almost like he finally realizes you're there.
“You must be the wildlife biologist I’ve heard about. You can handle a gun?” He asks, and it seems your answer to his question will determine if he will even try to respect you as a person.
“Yes, sir.” You answer with an easy smile. “My dad taught me.”
“Atta girl. I already like you better than those plant science blowjobs in the lab.”
You look at him with wide eyes, suppressing a laugh. “Tell me how you really feel, Colonel.” He laughs, patting you on the shoulder. “Oh, maybe another time, honey. You ever feel like puttin’ down the clipboard and helping me out on exploration missions, let me know. I'll get you a spot in no time. ”
He moves around you to lean against the diagram table, speaking with Jake. You take it upon yourself to look around the room, so you don’t have to listen to much of Jake’s debrief with Quaritch. You hear very little as you leave to wait for Jake outside the room.
“‘Jarhead Clan?’” Quaritch asks Jake with a disbelieving smile. “And it worked?”
“Hey, I'm practically family. They're gonna study me. I have to learn to be one of them. Me ‘n’ my girl over there.” And that’s your fucking cue to get further away from the room.
Jake’s got an apprehensive look on his face as he enters the lab. You bump into his shoulder gently. “What’s up?”
He gives you an easy smile, and your dumb, stupid brain goes blank. He’s so charming it hurts. “Nothing to worry about, pretty girl. Just a grunt getting orders.”
You feel yourself sigh, fighting a tiny smile. There he goes again. ‘Pretty girl’. Fucker.
“Alright. Grace wants to give us a quick review of everyone before we go in ‘cause we’re idiots.”
“Ha!”
You follow closely behind Jake as Grace holds up pictures of the spiritual leaders of the Omatikaya for Jake like flashcards.
“Moat. Dragon Lady.”
You move to hop into your own link machine, hearing Norm practically shout in shock and disbelief. “Who’s Eywa?!” You rub your hand down your face, exasperated. God. Jake is pretty, but boy, he does not pay attention.
“Only their deity. Their goddess, made up of all living things. Everything they know! You'd know this if you had any training whatsoever.”
Oop, there it is. Norm is jealous. You make a soft click at the back of your throat, sending him an apologetic look. Jake, however, doesn’t give a flying fuck.
“Who’s got a date with the Chief’s daughter?” He goads with a self-satisfied smirk, holding up the holographic tablet with Neytiri’s picture on it.
Norm scoffs, wasting his breath as he tries to argue with Jake. Grace breaks it up quickly, “Alright, knock it off, you two.”
“Let’s go.” She rounds on you and Jake. “Village life starts early. Don't do anything unusually stupid.”
You can’t help the stupid grin that spreads over your face as Neytiri guides a large direhorse, Pa’li, over to you and Jake. You take stock of the animal up close, having only ever seen it in textbooks before. It’s a female, you can tell by the muted coloring. The species is sexually dimorphic, with males typically being smaller than the females. She’s got strong upper-body armor plates, and just like most fauna on Pandora, two sets of upper-body limbs and two sets of eyes. Jake approaches her, his voice soft.
“Easy, boy.”
You hide your smile by looking away from the interaction, Neytiri notices, but corrects Jake without laughing at him.
“Pale is female.” She calms the direhorse, patting her chest. “Sìltsan. Sìltsan, Pale, sìltsan.”
Jake tilts his head in concession, adjusting his stance to mount Pale. “Easy, girl.” He finally rolls on top after a wheeze (or two), adjusting his seating. He grins at you with a cocky smirk. “That’s how it’s done, pretty girl.”
“Whatever, you’re gonna eat dirt in like five minutes.”
“Eat dirt?” Neytiri’s gaze flickers over to yours as she pets Pale to keep her calm. You feel your cheeks heat up at her curious look.
“Oh, not literally, it’s uh… something we say when people fall or, um, get embarrassed.”
“Like you are right now, pretty girl?” Jake grins, too self-satisfied for your liking. He NEEDS to be humbled right now.
“Shut the fuck up, Jake.” You seethe, giving him a sharp glare. Neytiri lets out a soft huff of laughter, and you swear you see a tiny piece of your soul float away.
The Pale lets out a few impatient trumpets, swishing her head back and forth. Neytiri calms her, handing Jake the direhorse’s queue. He looks at it apprehensively, grabbing his own from behind his head to make tsaheylu.
Pale lets out a loud, startled whinny, stomping wildly for a moment, and Jake lets out the tiniest breath. His eyes dilated for a few seconds before he felt for the bond.
“That is tsaheylu.” Neytiri starts gently, “The bond. Feel her.”
Her voice is captivating; you’re entirely focused on what she has to say. Except the small gasp Jake lets out makes you zero in on his face as he experiences the bond for the first time.
“Feel her heartbeat. Her breath. Feel her strong legs. You may tell her what to do. Inside. For now, say where to go.”
Jake scoots forward a tiny bit, pointing away from him. “Forward!”
Except he’s not holding onto a single part of Pale. And she takes off just a tad too fast. Jake loses the connection, falling into a small pile of mud. Neytiri laughs, taking your wrist to pull you forward. “He did eat dirt!” She lets go of you as she runs after Pale. You grin as you help Jake up. “So that’s how it’s done, yeah?”
He gives you a withering look, which falls into wariness as Tsu’tey and a few other warriors approach on direhorses.
Tsu’tey scowls at both of you, unimpressed with Jake’s fumble on Pale. “You should go away.”
“Nah, you’d miss us too much.” Jake snarks back before he points at Tsu’tey with a smile. “I knew you could speak English.”
Jake brushes off mud as Tsu’tey speaks in Na’vi to Neytiri. “Fìketuwongìl ke nayume ke'ut.”
God, you wish you knew the language better. You mentally make a note to suck up to Norm when you get back, so he’ll help you with some of the language.
“Nì'ul kame tskxe. Poru tìng nari.” Tsu’tey finishes with a scoff. You cringe as Jake swipes mud from his tongue with a muddy fucking hand. Men. Why do you have to be attracted to them?
Neytiri smiles, her eyes are so big, you think. You’re already fawning over her, Jesus. You force yourself to look away, and she turns to swat at Tsu’tey’s horse. “Kä.”
Tsu’tey and his groupies take off, leaving you with Neytiri and a muddy Jake. You grin, giving Jake a side-eye.
“So…how’d the mud taste?” You barely have time to laugh before he tosses a fat glob of mud towards you. You gasp, swiping the mud from your face in complete disbelief as he’s wheeze laughing at you. Neytiri also laughs, hiding her smile behind her hand. Bastards, both of them.
You kick mud towards Jake in retaliation, but he takes off and tackles you into the mud. You let out a surprised squeal, smacking at his back. “Mother fucker!”
Neyriri finally approaches, pushing Jake off you gently. She nods towards Pale. “Jake, again. Then you.” She finishes with a nod in your direction. Jake snorts, seeing you drenched in mud.
“How’s the mud taste, pretty girl?”
Grace sends an emergency message to the ground team. Something about packing up and moving the operation elsewhere. You’re kissing Norm’s ass so he’ll tutor you in Na’vi as Jake rolls into the lab.
“So, where are we going?” He asks, looking up at Grace as he pulls his pack off his back.
“Gettin’ outta Dodge.” Grace replies coolly, giving Jake a look. “I'm not about to let Selfridge and Quaritch micro-manage this thing.”
You feel your brows pinch together. When the hell have they been micro-managing? Or are you just that oblivious? You help Norm pack a few things from the lab into a chest, listening to Grace. “There's a mobile link up at Site we can work out of, way up in the mountains.”
Norm pauses, looking at Grace in utter shock, “The Hallelujah Mountains?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you serious?” he asks again, a giddy smile on his face.
“Yeah.” Grace breathes out, a little confused.
“Yes!” Norm fist pumps the air, laughing excitedly.
Jake looks up at him, curious about his excitement. Norm, ever the one to take the moment to seem like THE Pandora expert, scoffs at him. “The legendary floating mountains of Pandora. Heard of them?”
“Chill, Norm.” You huff, brushing past him to speak with Jake. “Do you know why we’re going up there?” You whisper, your cheek almost brushing his.
“Not a clue, pretty girl.” He whispers back with a tight grin. You know he’s lying to you, but he’s allowed to have his secrets, so you concede, hanging back to walk with him to the aircraft hangar.
You help Grace load up yours and Jake’s Avatars into the seats of Trudy’s craft. Grace’s is placed on the floor, belted in, god forbid any of them fall out. Thinking about it makes you sick, so you sit at the door, making sure they’re all secured safely.
You hear Grace through the comms, “We're getting close.
“Yeah, look at my instruments.” Trudy hums, and you can hear the static from her pilot board through the comms.
“Yep. We're in the Flux Vortex.”
“We're VFR from here on.” You can hear Trudy flipping some things off at the pilot's seat, which makes you kinda glad you’re not in there to see what the hell’s happening.
“What's VFR?”
“Means you gotta see where you're going.”
Norm huffs, his voice a little hesitant, “You can't see anything,” and Trudy fucking laughs. You chance a look outside the window, and it's just fog. For miles. In the floating mountains of Pandora.
Fuuuuuuck.
“Exactly. Ain't that a bitch?”
When Trudy makes it through the worst of the fog, the mountains practically appear from thin air. You hear Norm’s whisper through the comms. “Oh, my God.”
You lean further out the window, dazed by the huge mountain-shaped rocks just fucking floating there. You imagine your Avatar jumping from boulder to boulder, her agility much more skilled than yours. Suddenly, Jake’s Avatar is there in your daydream, tackling her to the ground like he did yesterday in the mud. You look back towards your actual Avatar. Jake, your mind seethes, he’s going to distract you from everything you worked hard to get. He’s just so charming, worming his way into your heart. You know, out of the few days you’ve been here, that Jake will most likely be a friend for life. The tackle into the mud is on your mind again. You were too annoyed yesterday to feel anything but anger. Thinking back, you know you wanna find yourself in a position like that again. He was on top, grinning down at you. His hand was lying right next to your head. Good Lord, don’t picture anything like that ever again. You shift awkwardly in your seat, adjusting the oxygen mask over your warmed face properly. Trudy lands safely with a small laugh, “Thank you for flying Air Pandora.” You hop off, following the trio into the trailer camp.
“Welcome to camp.” Grace smiles with a lit cigarette in her hand as she goes around to turn on all the computers and lights in the small trailer. You’re standing behind Jake as Trudy opens the minifridge in his face. There are several pictures of Grace’s avatar with young Na’vi kids. You recognize Neytiri in a lot of them. She’s younger, though, and usually standing next to a girl who looks a lot like her, just a few years older. This must be Grace’s school. Oh, how much fun she probably had with these kids. You feel your brows furrow; you know the history of what happened. Several kids were hiding out at the school after setting a bulldozer on fire. The RDA followed them to the school, firing on kids anyway. Grace did what she could, getting most of the kids out of the massacre; some fell anyway. What monsters, you think, the RDA. And immediately, you understand Grace’s urgency to move out to this camp and get away from Quaritch and Selfridge.
Grace leads us down a small hallway to the link beds. “Alright, Jake, hang a left. You’ll be in the one at the end. Unit One.”
She snorts, a wry smile on her face as she looks at you. “‘Pretty girl’,” you feel your face heat up as you give her a withering look. “Will be at the one on the other end. Unit Three.”
She smiles, her eyes squinting sharply, “They’re the least glitchy. Have fun, kids. Don’t die.”
The home tree is so fucking huge. You and Jake are panting slightly by the time Neytiri has only led you up half of it. You can’t wait to get into better shape out here. You’ll need it.
She exits through a small arching knot in the tree, onto a balcony of tree branches. You notice she’s got purple chaps on. They look good on her, you think with a smile. Purple’s her color.
Jake looks over the edge of the thick branch we're on, breathing just as heavily as you are. You let out a sharp breath. “Please don't fall over.” He huffs, shaking his head, “gonna do a flip.”
Your nose scrunches as you slap the back of his shoulder, “idiot.” And said idiot just laughs, pulling you forward. His thumb caresses the back of your hand for the briefest of seconds before he lets go. You miss the warmth pretty quickly.
Neytiri distracts you from your grieving. She’s mimicking a mountain banshee call, an Ikran. No fucking way-
You laugh excitedly as several of them wake from their roosts. “Oh my god!” You grin brightly, jumping on the balls of your feet. Jake huffs out a small laugh, his hand resting on your lower back. Suddenly, a teal Ikran with yellow and black markings lands in front of Neytiri. You feel Jake flinch back at the sudden movement, but you’re too excited to see a banshee up close and in person to do anything else but stand there.
You follow the path of her wingspan; it must be 40-45 feet. Jake laughs, it’s a breathy sound right by your ear, and you can’t stop the small shiver that runs up your spine. “Holy shit.”
Neytiri turns around, “Do not look in her eye.” Both you and Jake immediately look to the left of Neytiri’s legs.
“Seze, Tam tam, Seze.” You smile softly at the way Neytiri speaks to her Ikran. She obviously loves her with her whole heart. You think back to your temporary jobs at the zoo back on Earth. The poor creatures were so miserable, no matter how hard you and the other techs tried your best. Some of the last few non-game animals left on earth, and the general public couldn't have cared less. The zoos were losing money fast, and most animals had to be sold to the bigger zoos or be put down to lessen their suffering. Completely unlike the fauna here on Pandora.
You never want to go back.
“Ikran is not a horse,” Neytiri grins, petting Seze gently. She bonds with her, and Seze lets out a soft trill. “Once tsaheylu is made, ikran will fly with only one hunter in its whole life.” The smooth way she mounts the banshee makes your eyes wide. She’s effortlessly graceful. “To become taronyu, hunter, you must choose your own ikran, and he must choose you.” Oh, you’re elated, they’re going to let you and Jake have ikrans?
“When?” You breathe out, way too excited for your own good. Neytiri grins down at you, her brows pinching for the smallest of seconds when she notices Jake’s hand on your lower back, but she smoothes her face out pretty quickly.
“When you are ready.” She hums, a small smirk on her face as she pulls down the flight goggles from her hairline onto her brow and takes off on Seze. She lets out a loud call, and Seze drops before spreading her wings and taking circles around you and Jake at the hometree. You and Jake do everything in your power to keep Neytiri and Seze in your line of sight. Jake huffs out, amazed watching her with a grin. This is the happiest you’ve ever seen her; her smile is huge, bright, and pretty.
Fuck, you’re really in for it with these two. And you know that’s the understatement of the century as Neytiri flies low over you and Jake, making you both duck down to the branch and she hoots with a grin.
Jake can’t help but touch every plant in his way as the woman leads you both deeper into the forest. You cringe at the wet slaps from the glowing plants, and Jake grins like a little kid pulling you closer by your tail. The Na’vi woman turns back around, eyeing you both. “Come.” She huffs, turning back around. Jake’s grin falls in embarrassment, letting you go in front. You shake your head, motioning for him to go in front of you. “She likes you better-”
“Shut up, she likes you better, pretty girl. You at least got a smile.”
“Just go. Be chivalrous.”
“Oh, that’s a big word. Learn that specifically to impress Grace?”
“Eat it, Sully.”
He laughs, catching up to the woman. There’s still a significant amount of room, so he quickens his pace. “What’s your name?” He asks the woman, before taking a bad fall from the tree and hitting two others on the way to the ground. You stop in your tracks, looking down at him in panic. He’s got a rope tangled around his ankles. The woman turns around with a gasp. She takes your hand, helping you down to the ground. It’s there you see a war party of Na’vi, specifically Omaticaya warriors, surrounding Jake. He laughs nervously. It would be almost cute if his avatar’s life wasn’t on the line.
You’re almost too giddy at the sight of the direhorses, Pa’li, to remember that you are in fact a fucking stranger and alien to these people. You cringe, hunching your shoulders as Neytiri jumps in front of you and Jake.
“Mawey, Na'vi, mawey.” They don’t loosen their bows an inch, but they do take a tiny step backwards. A tall Na’vi man approaches the woman. He’s obviously disgusted with Jake and I’s presence. “Ma Tsu'tey! Kempe si nga?”
“Fayvrrtep fìtsenge lu kxanì!” He spits back towards her, staring over her shoulder directly at Jake. He’s got his hands up in surrender; you follow suit. Slowly. You give Jake a sideways glance, silently asking if he has any idea what’s going on. He purses his lips with a tiny shrug. Well, that’s your answer.
“Aungia lolu! Tsahìkur txele lu!” You try to hide your grin as she obviously sasses this man. Her tail whips languidly in front of you. Her head tilts in the tiniest motion, staring up at the Na’vi man as she waits for him to respond. She’s got him by the balls by the disgusted look on his face.
“What’s going on?” Jake finally asks, taking a step forward towards the woman.
“Pot zamunge!” The Na’vo warrior orders, and they surround Jake, grabbing him by his arms. One takes hold of his kuru by the base, and he tenses as they push him forward. The group of warriors hoots as the Na’vi in charge, you think you heard the woman call him Tsu’tey, nods towards you and the woman. “Zamunge tuté.” He orders her before raising his bow in celebration. “Makto ko!” The warriors on the direhorses take off, leaving the foot warriors that are forcing Jake into a run, and you…and the woman.
She takes your arm, much more gently than the warriors who had grabbed Jake. “Come, sevin ‘eve.”
“What does that mean?” You whip your head towards her, and she chuffs at the confused expression on your face. “It’s your name, no? Pretty girl.”
You cringe, feeling heat creeping up your neck, “no-no, that’s just something he, Jake, calls me. A nickname.”
“It is fitting. I want to call you that too.” She walks ahead like it actually means nothing to her, but you swear, your heart skipped a literal beat. That’s just…really not fair.
You and the woman fall behind the war party, dragging Jake roughly towards the tallest tree you think you’ve ever seen. The woman rushes past several other Na’vi, leading you towards the center of the tree. She quickly takes the lead, tugging you behind her.
Jake gives you a wide-eyed look of warning as they let him go. He immediately takes your arm, keeping you close as they begin to swarm the two of you. You chance a look over your shoulder, seeing Jake being held by his kuru, the Na’vi holding a knife to the base. You’re almost relieved they aren't leading you like that, instead letting Jake hold you close to him.
One Na’vi man curiously taps Jake’s arm, and he, in turn, gives him a passing glance. When another man pokes at you, Jake yanks you in closer, snarling at the Na’vi man before he’s roughly pulled back by his kuru himself. You let out a muffled yowl as you stumble due to Jake unintentionally pulling you backwards. The Na’vi yip and speak their language as the circle begins to grow.
Finally, as the circle dissipates, you see the soft glow of a fire and a man in chieftain-like clothing. The woman pulls you and Jake towards him and-oh my god. He’s standing next to a Great Leonopteryx skull, or as the People call it, Toruk. If you could get close enough to get the ICPM Dental formula of his teeth, your life would be fucking complete. No one else has much data; the other biologists have been focusing on much more feasible research options, because anyone who’s approached the Great Leonopteryx got to be his supper. You’re trembling and not at all paying attention to what’s being said around you, practically salivating over the thought of being so close to a Great Leonopteryx.
You come out of your trance when Jake takes a step forward to shake the chief’s hand, and a sudden wave of Na’vi takes over you both, grabbing Jake. The woman herself even hisses and pushes him backwards.
Another voice calls from further back in the ground, “Tsaswiräti lonu! Aynga neto rivikx!”
“That is mother. She is Tsahìk.” The girl whispers as the older woman approaches from the tree.
“What did you do?” You whisper to Jake when it’s quiet enough. He huffs, glancing at the woman, and you vaguely piece together that the word Tsahìk means ‘spiritual leader’ before he leans closer. “Tried to impress our girl’s dad.”
You suck in a wincing breath, “her dad is the…I think the word is Olo…” You trail off, cringing. “I don’t know the word.” Grace would be so fucking disappointed you can’t remember one of the easiest words in the language. Jake snorts softly, bumping your shoulder with his.
“Chief is good enough for me.”
“Shut up before they decide to kill us.”
He gives you the prettiest grin, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Who, me? You, maybe. I’m sooo smooth talking my way out of this, pretty girl.”
You feel your eye twitch, but you refrain from responding as the Tsahìk approaches. You and Jake both stand a little straighter under the woman's intense gaze. She’s got an ornate headdress on, and a shawl akin to knitted wool back home.
The girl who brought you here leans closer, “She is the one who interprets the will of Eywa.”
Jake hums, looking at the girl as the Tsahìk circles you both. “Who’s Eywa?” The Tsahìk lifts his kuru, and he jumps, but continues to let her touch him, learning his lesson after approaching the chief. Oh! The Olo’eyktan. You’re not stupid after all, you catch sight of the Great Leonopteryx again, feeling a horrible impatience pull at your chest. You flinch back to reality as the Tsahìk pulls at your tail gently, twirling it around her hand. She finally comes to a stop in front of you both.
“What are you called? You?” She points to your chest first, but she doesn’t have to wait long for an answer. “Y/N Stark.”
She looks towards Jake expectantly, and he nods, “Jake Sully.” She squints at him, quickly withdrawing a needle-like object from the headpiece hanging from her neck. She pokes Jake quickly, hard enough for you to hear it. You cringe in sympathy pains as Jake lets out a surprised grunt. She licks the small bead of blood from the needle. Her eyes, that had been roving over you both, suddenly widened. “Why have you both come to us?”
“We came to learn.” You breathe out softly, hoping Jake follows along.
“We have tried to teach other Sky People. It is hard to fill a cup which is already full.” She answers plainly, her gaze flicking between you and Jake.
“Well, my cup is empty, trust me. Just ask Dr. Augustine. I'm no scientist.” Jake adds quickly. The little shit is helping his case and not yours.
“What are you?” She inquires, tilting her head at Jake.
“I was a Marine. A...A warrior of the Jarhead clan.” he looks so proud of himself and not at the same time. You also feel the beads of stress sweat building in your hairline.
“Tsamsiyu pak? Pot tsun oe tspivang nìftue.” The warrior you remember as Tsu’tey huffs with a confident, yet sneering expression. You feel in your chest that whatever he said wasn’t very good for either you or Jake, as the Olo’eyktan stops him immediately, a hand to his chest. “Kehe!”
“Fìpo lu 'awvea, uniltìranyu-tsamsiyu, a tsole'a awngal.” The man motions towards Jake, his voice is calm and steady. He’s obviously a favored leader of his people; they hang onto his every word. “Pori awngaru lu tìkin, a nume nì'ul.” The clan gives each other stunned looks as the chief finishes. You so wish you were better at speaking the language and knew what they were saying. Although it does seem to be in Jake’s favor, you’re not sure about yourself.
The Tsahìk approaches the girl slowly, her head bowed. “Ma 'ite, awngeyä fya'ori zene nga sänume sivi poru…” The girl gasps, disgusted as her mother continues. “...fte tsivun pivlltxe sì tivìran na ayoeng.”
The girl whispers as she begins to protest whatever order was just given to her. “Oeru pelun? Ke lu muiä.”
The Tsahìk, her mother, holds up a hand, silencing her. “Fkol pole'un fì'ut.” The girl stomps, an aggravated growl leaving her snarling face.
“It is decided. My daughter will teach you our ways. Learn well, JakeSully. Then we will see if your insanity can be cured.” She stresses the word insanity with a small eyebrow raise, and Jake gives her a soft, thankful tilt of the head.
If anyone were to ask you, you’re probably about to throw up. No one has said anything to you in the past five minutes, and they’ve just told Jake they’re going to teach him, but what about you?
Jake obviously notices the silent panic, nodding towards the Tsahìk. “What about my friend?”
“She is a scientist, yes? Then she understood the conversation and is not welcome here.”
You squeeze your eyes shut in frustration, fuck. But before you can even plead your case, that no, you didn’t understand a word, the younger girl steps forward again, touching her mother’s arm. “She must learn as well, Eywa gave me the sign. Both of them.”
You still hold your breath as the Tsahìk rounds on you, studying you resolutely. “You… may stay and learn with JakeSully, Y/N Stark. If it is the will of Eywa.”
She walks away, and you let out a tiny sigh of relief, turning to thank the girl, but she’s disappeared for the moment. Jake pats you on the shoulder, leaning down to speak with you quietly.
“You okay there, pretty girl? You were about as white as a sheet, which is impressive considering we’re blue.”
You grunt, shoving your elbow into his ribs as he laughs heartily. “Poor baby, I thought they were gonna send you back in the middle of the night. I would have gone with you, of course, but I’m glad our girl vouched for you.”
“Shut up, I’m about to puke.”
He laughs again, pulling you towards the girl as she appears over a tree root, motioning for you both to follow her.
Your girl, guide… acquaintance? Gave you and Jake both plain clothing to wear as you learn her people’s way. It honestly makes sense. You have just never been so exposed before in your life. Cheeks? Out. It is normal for The People. You remember Grace saying that bodies are not sexualized here on Pandora; it’s a normal way of life. But if you catch Jake staring at the beads covering your chest one more time, you might combust.
The idiot picks his loincloth out of his ass, right in front of you, as your guide leads you towards the rest of the clan. As you both approach, the clan goes silent, turning to look at both of you. Jake sighs, putting on a nervous smile. “G-Good evening.” He continues following your girl. When the clan says nothing, he has to open his dumb mouth again. “Please don't get up.” He jokes, chuckling nervously to himself, you can’t help the small snicker either, hiding your face from most of the clan behind Jake’s back. He’s stumbling over their feet, and you wince as he accidentally steps on a Na’vi’s tail. “Sorry.” He mumbles, taking you by the arm to pull you faster towards where your girl is waiting.
She shoves both of you to sit down. You lean close to Jake, noticing a little girl poke around her father to look at you and Jake. He smiles kindly at her, “Hey, how you doing?” She grins shyly, waving before her father pulls her back towards him quickly. Jake breaths out a soft laugh, turning to you to brush hair from your face. “Friendly.” He murmurs, and you can't help but grin back.
You sit up, straightening when your girl returns with a plate of food. She hands you and Jake both something to eat, and you cringe softly, immediately recognizing it as the Teylu grub. “Thank you,” you whisper, Jake following suit.
He leans towards her, in your space. “You know, we don’t even know your name.”
The girl answers without even looking up from her teylu grub, “Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite.”
Jake smiles nervously, his ears flicking backwards. You lean in closer as he asks her again. “Again, a whole lot slower.”
“Neytiri.” She finally turns to look at you both. You get a good look at the bioluminescent spots dotting her face. You’ve never really seen a woman so pretty before. Jake opens his mouth again.
“Neytili?”
She inhales softly, enunciating her name louder, “Neytiri.”
Jake gets it right the second time, “It’s nice to meet you, Neytiri. It’s nice.” You give her a pretty smile as well, tilting your head towards her. “It’s a pretty name.”
She hums, her ears flicking up and down for a brief moment. Neytiri and Jake both take a bite of the Teylu; you hesitantly follow, but it’s fucking great. Why were you ever nervous?
Jake leans towards Neytiri, his gaze on her mother and father sitting across from our small group. “You know, I think your mom likes me. I can tell.”
You glance up at the absolutely disgusted looks the trio is giving you both, snickering at Jake’s joke. Neytiri doesn’t answer, continuing to eat her dinner. And he finally asks the question. “These rock. What are they?”
You snicker, waiting for Neytiri to answer. She gives you a quick look, noticing the impish look on your face, and she gives you a tiny lift of her lip in return. “Teylu.” She answers Jake dryly. He repeats it, looking at the pile, with a grin. Neytiri continues with a lazy smirk, “Um, you call…beetle larvae.” Jake pauses for a slow second, and she gives you a satisfied grin before he recovers with a dorkish smile. “Well, that’s some damn fine Teylu. It’s like grandma’s Teylu.” He adds with a wide-eyed smile. You finally giggle, Neytiri smiling wide as she grabs another handful for Jake. “More Teylu?”
He inhales sharply, giving you both a dry look. Neytiri grins even wider, eating her own plateful happily before sobering and looking back down with a disgusted expression. Your eyes widen as you look at Jake, leaning closer to him to help pick off the food she just dumped on him. “Thanks, pretty girl.” He whispers into your hair, picking out a few more grubs.
Neytiri leads you and Jake to a row of hammocks. There are three open, just enough for all of you to have your own. After getting into your hammock shakily, affected by the height of the hometree, falling asleep wasn’t hard at all after the day you and Jake had.
You have never felt more disappointed than when the fluorescent lights of the lab come into your view. You can hear Grace calling for Jake as Norm tries to wake you up.
“Hey, come on. There you go.” You wince away as Norm shines a bright ass fucking flashlight in your face.
“Norm, please.” You murmur out, pushing his hands away. He huffs, placing his hands on his waist as he moves over to help Grace with Jake. He must be having a more difficult time coming out of the link.
“Come on back, kid. Come on. That's it.” You hear Grace talk to Jake softly as he comes to, patting his face to speed up the process.
You sit up, watching as Jake finally comes out of it with a soft chuckle.
“There you go. There you go, there you go. You're okay. You're okay.” Grace sighs, relaxed as she helps Jake sit up. “Damn! You were dug in like a tick. Stark came out ready to go.” Jake lets out a relieved groan as they help him sit up. He looks for you, finally settling with a smile on his face as his eyes land on you.
“Are your avatars safe?” Grace asks, standing in front of you two with a lit cigarette in his fingers. You snicker, hiding your face behind a fist. Grace is going to combust.
“Yeah, doc,” Jake answers with a grin, obvious in his voice.
“And you are not gonna believe where we are.”
Part 1 2 3 4 5 6
tags: @moneynlove i said i gotchu pal, n i deliver! ;)
my little rotting brain can't think of anything else but this fanfic, BUT to celebrate the arts, this is how I picture my version of Y/N in the story. She's plain jane rn, I will continue to add more to 'her' as "You Bring Nothing Good With You" progresses!
You’ve never felt more panicked than you do right now, watching Jake frantically carve a spear. He constantly looks around, left hand flying as he whittles the tip sharper. Trying to make your way back to the craft is a nightmare. Animal calls you used to play continuously to memorize for school, fill the night air. What was once a small comfort of how hard you were pushing yourself to do better is now like icy cold water splashing against your back, your body stiff with anxiety. It does a good job of keeping you ripe with fear.
“God, what the hell is that smell?” Jake grumbles, shaking his head of it, and he leads your small group through the dense brush of the forest. You huff, knowing it’s a mix of your and his pheromones. “It’s us, Jake. Fear makes animals stink. A rise of Cortisol in the sweat from stress.”
“...Wonderful. Stop sweating before it attracts another one of those things.”
“Those things? Jake, that was a Thanator, a Palulukan. The apex predator on the ground here-”
“Okay, you’re overvaluing that thing. We got away, obviously it’s not that good.”
“Don’t be an idiot while billions of dollars are on the line, as well as our jobs.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turns to you with a grin, tipping your chin up with a quick brush. “Don’t be so pissy.”
You genuinely feel your eye twitch as you stare up at him with a dry glare. You’re not going to bother with giving him a response. You follow as he steps around a large bush. A tiny noise, unlike any animal call you’ve ever heard, makes your ears perk up, and you pause in your steps, looking up at the giant tree branch looming over you. Something's up there, you note, seeing a few leaves unnaturally flutter. You stare up, hoping whatever animal is up there will show itself before Jake gets too far away from you. He’s absolutely clueless, making a path through the brush with a single-minded focus. You can’t see around the underside of the tree limb, but whatever it is is moving. You step forward, too excited about an animal encounter to think clearly. A flash of blue and white dances above you before Jake grabs your arm impatiently.
“Are you trying to get eaten? Stay close, pretty girl.”
“But there was something up there.”
“Hopefully not one of those big ass cats again.” He huffs lamely, gently moving you to walk in front of him. You huff, stomping forward. “No, it wasn’t, it was something else, and now it's gone because you walk so damn loud.”
He laughs, pulling at your kuru, “Pretty girl, you're the one stomping around. Gonna attract every animal there is.” You turn around and slap his hands with a grunt.
“Why’re you bein’ so annoying, Jake?” You grumble, grabbing the spear from him to wrap extra fabric from your pack around the blunt end. You notice a white jellyfish-looking sprite float away from the tree you were just staring at. Must be a type of plant seed, it’s not any animal or insect that you’ve studied. It sinks, landing on your outstretched palm, dancing over your fingers.
“What is that thing?” Jake leans closer, his face inches from yours.
“Don’t know. Not an animal or insect…Grace would know.” You hum, gently shaking your hand as the sprite jumps upwards and away.
“Come on, the sun's setting.” He grabs the spear back from you, adding his jacket around the fabric you already placed. “Gonna have to find something to light this up with pretty quickly, or we’ll be stumbling around in the dark.”
The absolute panic of looking for fuel before it gets entirely too dark is not as exhilarating to you as it is to Jake. He lets out a small hoot as he finally finds a pool of sap stuck in a tree to cover the torch in. A pack of several small animals chitters nearby, and you can’t help panicking as he struggles to light the matches.
“Jake! Jake! Jake! Hurry-”
“Shut up. I know.” He snaps, shaking his head as he grabs another match, his voice softening. “I know.”
You pick up a neighboring stick, eyes wide as you watch the viperwolves, nantang, start circling both of you. He finally lights the torch, warding off about 15 viperwolves that were to your back. Jake keeps you behind him as he uses the fire to keep the viperwovles at bay. As you stumble through the forest, you mentally note that this is significantly worse than running from the thanator. The damn things are all over, trailing us on the round and in the trees. Jake finally gets us into a clearing, but the viperwolves surround us. He grunts, sweat coating his blue face.
He swings the torch around, keeping the viperwolves away every time they get closer. The viperwolves swarm closer, taunting the two of us with sharp teeth and six clawed limbs. Jake sighs, “Fuck it.” His shoulders roll, making sure you are square behind his back. “I don't have all goddamn night.”
“Come on. Come on!” One snarls, jumping for Jake, but he smacks it backwards with the torch. You wince as it lets out a small yelp, which had to have hurt. You hit one with the stick you picked up, and it does its job before splintering into pieces, leaving you weaponless. Jake spins you both around, spearing a viperwolf that had been running through the branches. It whimpers, and you feel sorry for the creature, having to experience such a painful death. But with it, Jake lost the spear. So as a last resort, he unsheathes his knife, swinging in a wide arc to be rid of the viperwolves. You let out a startled shriek as one latches onto Jake, taking him to the ground. He’s got the knife, and you’re shit out of luck.
You mentally panic as he wrestles with it. He finally gets over it, putting it down with ease. Running towards you, another viperwolf takes him down by the ankles.
“Jake!” Please don’t die. You could handle losing your avatar body, and possibly with it, your job. You don’t want that for Jake. You pull on the tail of the viperwolf, and it snarls as it turns towards you. It doesn’t take long before another viperwolf takes the original’s place. You fend off your own attacker, watching Jake’s snap at his face.
You push at one lunging for you, getting your hand scratched in the process. You can live with that for sure. One last grunt, and you manage to push it away from your face successfully, screaming towards Jake to help when an arrow flies into the viperwolf’s back. Jake, assuming he bested the animal, comes flying up to slam the wounded animal into a tree trunk. He sees the arrow and hesitantly turns around.
You do too, seeing a young Na’vi warrior jump from the branch above you as she looses another arrow. Your jaw drops, almost in disbelief that she’s helping both of you in any sense. She lands gracefully, smacking a viperwolf with her bow. Two more swings, two more viperwolves running. One jumps her before either you or Jake can say anything to warn her, but she withdraws a blade, quickly disposing of the attacker. You can’t help but smile at the sight of her whipping the viperwolves with her bow and them hauling ass away. She hisses in a lowered… almost protective position, her tail thrashing wildly behind her. The rest follow suit, their tails tucked between their legs.
Jake keeps you behind him, keeping you safe in case any viperwolves come back, or if the Na’vi woman decides to attack. Poor boy, his clothes are ripped to shreds. You’re sure yours aren't any better, but he looks like he’s been through the wringer; it makes something in your chest ache.
She spins back around, holding her hand up to block the light from the torch you and Jake spent so long trying to make. She hisses softly, it’s almost a disgusted sound as she gets closer to pick it up. She walks closer to the creek, and Jake steps forward, “Hey, wait. Don't!” You feel a sense of dread as she ignores him and throws it into the creek, dousing the fire. There goes any sense of comfort you had, other than Jake. He scoffs, holding out his arms before giving you a soft look. “Great…We’ll make another one.” You huff, brushing loose hair from your face.
Jake hesitantly follows her as she approaches the first wounded viperwolf that she hit with an arrow. You know that the Na’vi feel very strongly about the life that surrounds them. Everything has meaning. So why’d she kill this viperwolf if not to hunt? You can hear her well, but you can tell she’s saying something as she drives her blade into the animal for a quick kill, taking it out of its misery.
You stay close to Jake as he reaches into the creek, grabbing the soaked torch. When you turn back around, the area is lit up by the bioluminescent plants. You gasp softly, amazed by the display. Jake, also mesmerised, takes a slow spin of the clearing, taking it all in with a soft breath. He’s glowing too, you notice, the small bioluminescent spots that dot across his face. He gives you a soft smile, mouthing ‘pretty girl,’ before turning to the other woman. She’s kneeling next to another viperwolf, praying over its body. Jake approaches, speaking calmly.
“Look, I know you probably don't understand this, but thank you.” She ignores him, her hands still splayed over the animal. You watch carefully behind Jake as he leans forward. “Thank you.” He tries again, shaking his head with a smile when she doesn’t acknowledge him. She pulls the arrow from the viperwolf, continuing to murmur.
“That was pretty impressive.” He grins, and she finally looks up. You’re blown away. Her big, golden eyes rake over you and Jake with little interest. Jake continues, emboldened by her attention.
“We would have been screwed if you hadn't come along. It was…” She stands, walking away from the two of you. You mentally panic; you don’t want her to leave. Not only is she the prettiest woman you’ve ever seen, but she also kicks ass.
Jake stands, pulling you after the woman. “Hey, wait a second. Hey, where are you going?” You both catch up to her quickly, her leisurely pace helping. She ducks under a large plant as Jake calls out again, “Wait up.”
“Just…hey, slow down.” He calls after her, pulling you even further into the forest. You’re starting to have reservations. What if she’s leading you both into a trap? It’d be perfect; she’s gorgeous enough that you’d follow her anywhere.
“Look, wait up, I just wanted to say thanks for killing those things.” Jake makes the mistake of touching her arm, and she swings back with her bow, smacking Jake. He falls backwards, taking you down with him in a heap of limbs. “Damn!”
You let out a soft noise, not in pain but surprised by the sudden fall. She approaches with an angry look on her face, pointing her bow down at Jake.
“Don’t thank.” She leans in closer, her face twisted in a disgusted snarl. “You don’t thank for this…this is sad. Very sad only.”
Jake angles himself between you and the woman, ever the protector, he just got bitchslapped by a bow. You huff, slightly annoyed, but continue to let him do the talking. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry.” He gestures to himself first before both of us. “We’re sorry. Whatever we did, we’re sorry.” He finishes softly, trying to appease her. You nod softly, keeping your hands on Jake’s shoulder.
She squints, standing up from her crouch to pace. “All this is your fault. They did not need to die.”
Jake lets out a disbelieving laugh, his brows pinched in confusion. “Our fault? They attacked us. How are we the bad guys-”
She surges forward, shoving the bow in Jake’s face, “Your fault!” He leans backwards, knocking your heads together in the process, “Ay! Whoa!”
You wince, holding your head in your hand, slapping his shoulder with the other, “Ow!” She briefly glances at you before focusing back on Jake, tapping his chest with the tip of her bow. “Your. Fault.”
“Shh. Easy. Easy.” He raises his hands in surrender, whispering to her. Tapping your thigh as a silent apology.
“You’re like a baby. Both of you. Making noise, don't know what to do.” She spits dryly, sharply pulling her bow back as Jake pushes the sharp end of it away. “Easy. Shh.” He hesitantly rises, helping you up with a gentle hand. “Fine. Fine.” He raises his hands in surrender, keeping himself in front of you. He motions backwards with his thumb, “If you love your little forest friends, why not let them just kill our asses?”
“What’s the thinking?” You peer around his shoulder to look at her, waiting for the reason you've been wondering yourself.
“Why save you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, why save us?”
She hesitates, blinking owlishly. “You have a strong heart…No fear,” She answers surely, her voice soft and smooth. Then she looks at you, tilting her head, and you swear the heat creeping up your cheeks is just from the humidity of the forest. “She has a strong heart…Much fear.” You see her smug little smirk, and you can’t even begin to attempt to talk, but she beats you to it. “But stupid! Ignorant like a child.” She spits towards Jake before turning away, and you giggle as you see a look of pure awe spread over his face. He grins down at you, picking up the stick.
“Come on, pretty girl. I got an idea.”
He pulls you after the woman, “Well, if we’re like children, then...uh. Look, maybe you should teach us.”
“Wow, Jake, what a selling point.” You murmur, stumbling over a moss-covered rock. He rights you, helping you get your footing as the woman continues to walk away.
She doesn’t even bother with looking at the two of you as she responds. “Sky people cannot learn. You do not see.”
“Then teach us how to see. Please?” You finally speak, but she’s still busy trying to get away from the two of you.
“No one can teach you to see.” You’re a little disheartened, but the view of the forest from the log you’re walking across makes up for it. You and Jake both let out twin ‘woah’s at the sheer color and magnitude of the plants surrounding you.
Jake picks up right where you left off. “Look, come on, can't we talk? Say, where'd you learn to speak English? Dr. Augustine's school?” Jake fucking slips, and you and the woman both reach out to steady him. You were more panicked than she was. She glares at him, whispering hardly in his face. “You’re like a baby.” She pushes away from him, muttering something you can’t understand in Na’vi.
You’re still attached to Jake’s elbow, and he hasn’t let go of you either. Obviously not keen on letting you drop. She looks away from both of you, and Jake’s jaw clenches. Oh god, he’s pulling out the puppy eyes. You know that would work on you, but curious enough to see if it'll work on this woman. You finally get a good look at her. Her top is made of feathers, the colors complementing her well. There’s a knife sheath across her chest, but you’re more interested in the bioluminescent dots that trail down her lithe body. It’s so pretty, but you force yourself to look back up at her face. She’s already looking at you, her eyes narrowed but not offended, she looks more playful than anything.
Jake takes a step forward, his voice low with desperation and urgency. “We need your help.”
“You should not be here.” She whispers back, raising her hand in a fist before letting it go. She’s got a strong pout; it makes you want to listen to her immediately, so that she won't look at you like you kicked her dog.
Jake steps closer, his head tilted down, “Okay, take us with you.”
“No. Go back.” She nods her head in the direction we had come from.
“No,” Jake says as he approaches her, and he walks away. She pushes him back, speaking Na’vi. You appear over his shoulder again, but she’s herding you both backwards with a snarl, and her ears pin down. “Go back.”
Suddenly, she’s distracted, her face smoothing into a look of wonder. You follow her gaze; tons of those white, jellyfish-like sprites from earlier are floating down.
Jake smacks one away when it gets close to his hand, and she scolds him quickly. Something in Na’vi that you don’t quite get, but understand that it was something he wasn't supposed to do. She holds his hand to keep him from doing it again, but he sees the look on her face. So when another sprite gets too close, he smacks it away with his free hand, more gently. She exclaims again, snatching his other hand. “No! Atokirina!” Jake looks around in confusion as they begin to swarm you both.
You feel several of them land on your head, giggling at the way they float over your fingers. When you look up, Jake looks so stiff, being covered in them himself. You frown softly as she steps backwards, but she doesn’t leave. She’s…almost astonished.
“What-” Jake starts, but he cuts himself off, mesmerized by the sprites as they land on his arms. “What are they?” You ask softly, trying to peer around the cloud of them that's surrounding your face.
She meets your gaze softly, staring at you and then the atokirina. “Seeds of the Sacred Tree. Very pure spirits.”
Jake side-eyes her, still covered, “uh-huh.”
She gasps gently, staring at the two of you in disbelief. And then she smiles? Oh my god, you’re not gonna last out here being with the two of them. You glance at Jake; they're covering him from the waist up. Different from the ones swarming your head, with a few outliers floating over your hands as you play with them.
They float away, and you miss the soft coolness that came from them. You watch as they drift away, reaching out to take Jake’s hand. “What was that all about?” He asks gently, looking at the woman with a confused expression. She mutters something in her language before scrutinizing the two of you. Finally, she hesitantly speaks. “Come.”
“Hey, there she is.” You hear distantly. The tech’s help you sit up, running the sensory motor tests. Jake's causing issues the moment he wakes up. You're still blinking slowly by the time he's sitting up and smacking techs with his tail.
You’re dizzy, trying to follow the tech’s instructions to check limb function. You do your best to ignore the shouts and warnings from the other techs and Norm to Jake, focusing on making sure you can move properly. “Easy, (Y/N), wiggle your toes and touch your finger to your thumb. Good. Good. Sit up slowly-HEY!”
You duck just in time as the monitor flies past you. Jake slams his hand against the window to balance himself. Patel tries his best to get Jake to listen; you can hear the aggravation in his voice without even having to look. “Jake. Come on. Jake! Listen to me. You're not used to your avatar body. This is dangerous.”
Jake grins brightly, his tail swishing back and forth erratically. “This is great.” And jesus if he doesn’t just disappear in the blink of an eye.
“Jake, come on! They’re gonna put you out!” He’s long gone by the time Norm stands up to follow, you not far behind. “Jake, listen-Norm! Sit down, (Y/N)!” Patel huffs, watching the three of you stumble through the halls onto the training grounds is similar to watching foals walk for the first time.
You shout, a laugh bubbling up your chest as you step out onto the training grounds. It’s like putting on crystal glasses for the first time. You’ve never seen the world like this before, similar to how a little kid sees the world.
Jake’s obviously having a good time himself, almost running into a couple of avatars playing basketball. “Hey, guys. Hey”
“It’s okay, I’ll get him.” Norm pushes the tech’s away from him, and by proxy, you. You take the lead while Norm stumbles around them. “Jake. Jake!”
You cackle, ignoring Jake and the human techs as Jake’s bare ass takes off into a sprint. You follow closely, sure your own cheeks are flashing everyone behind you.
“Guys! We’re not supposed to be running!” Norm shouts behind you both. It doesn’t even register in your mind. You’re too exhilarated by the fact that you are touching grass. Real grass. Not that sharp and itchy fake turf grass that parks on Earth had used. You laugh as Jake laughs, too excited to do anything else but try to race with him.
Jake dodges an AMP suit just in time, jumping over the walkway. “Jeez, sorry!” You fall behind, having barely stopped yourself in time. “Watch it!” The man calls out, stomping away. Panting while waiting for the AMP suit man to move, you watch Jake. Something, somewhere inside you, knows this is right.
He finally stops, and you catch up just in time. Giggling like a little girl. “Jake! Jesus, why’d you run off like that?”
He grins breathlessly, not looking at you but down into the dirt. “Hey, that’s what they get for giving a paraplegic legs.” You watch as he digs his toes into the soil, and smile. You were excited to feel real grass for the first time, and he’s just excited to be able to move freely. Bumping his shoulder, you grin. “Your braid’s falling out.” He huffs, reaching around to grab the kuru at the base, checking the integrity of the braid.
“Damn,” he breathes out, finally turning around to look at you. “Okay, gorgeous-” your cheeks heat up before you’re both interrupted.
“Hey, marine!” A tall avatar approaches us with a Stanford tank. No way, it's-
“Grace?” Jake asks, a small smile spreading over his face.
“Well, who’d you expect, numbnuts?” She grins, throwing a Spartan fruit towards Jake. “Think fast.”
You giggle at the shitty throw, Jake having to bend to catch it successfully. It’s a good thing Grace is a scientist with that aim. Of course, you’d never tell her that, though, afraid you might lose your fucking head.
“Motor control’s looking good.” She smiles as she nods for him to eat the fruit.
Juice squelches from the fruit as he takes a giant bite. You peer up at him as he lets out an appreciative chuckle. “Damn, this is good. Here, here, pretty girl, take a bite.” You feel your face get warm as he gingerly hands you the messy fruit, keeping his hands around it to keep it from falling apart. You lean down to take a small bite, closing your eyes as the sweet and crisp taste of the spartan fills your mouth. “Oh my god.”
Grace chuckles as she watches you both. She turns as Norm approaches, finally having caught up. “Go get dressed, you three, got quite a bit of training to do this afternoon.”
__________________
Jake sits in front of you while you braid the protective plait around the tswin, bitching every time you pull a little too hard. “Watch it, pretty girl.”
“Why’re you calling me that now? Is my name too hard?” you huff, tugging lightly on a thin strand of hair. He swats at your hand, grumbling. “It’s a nickname. You’re pretty. You’re a girl. Don’t read into it.”
You snort, finishing the braid, “whatever, sayrìp.”
He eyes you over his shoulder, “What the hell does that mean?” You smirk to yourself, trying to hide it. It translates to handsome, but he doesn’t deserve to know that quite yet.
Bite the bullet (Y/N).
“Dingus.”
Jake lets out a loud laugh, his ears pinning forward. “You think I believe that. I’m gonna ask Norm what it means.”
“Do you even remember what I said?” You hum self-satisfied, knowing he very much does not remember what you said. “Fuck.” He turns around, and oh my god, he’s giving you the puppy eyes, which works tremendously well on a Na’vi face. “Please say it again, pretty girl.”
That’s not at all fucking fair, so you turn away, crossing your arms over your chest. Face hot from the stupid nickname. “Absolutely not. Pay attention next time.” He knows he’s hot, what a dick. You send him another halfhearted look when he turns away, smirking to himself. The small baby hairs framing his face do not help you at all in this situation; he’s every bit the charming man and he plays it well.
Grace is quite literally your saving grace as she walks into the small housing quarters. “Come on, everybody, quiet down! All right, gang, lights out.” Jake slides off the cot you were sitting on, stealing the one next to you from Norm. Throwing Norm’s bedding onto the next bed with a playful shrug. He drops unceremoniously onto the cot next to you, pulling at his freshly done braid. He looks at the exposed nerve of the kuru, the tendrils wiggling gently. “Don’t play with that,” Grace mumbles as she walks past him, her voice heavy with exasperation. “You’ll go blind.”
He glances up at you silently, and you can’t help but smile at the barely alarmed look on his face as he smiles, “That’s kind of freaky.” He lets it go, leaning back onto the bed, facing yours. You mirror him, fixing your own tswin over your shoulder. “It’s an exposed nerve, gonna be a little freaky.”
“Lights out! See you at dinner, kiddies.” The lights shut off, and you see clearly as Jake follows you, making sure his kuru is resting over his shoulders. He gives you another sideways glance; there’s an air of nervousness about him. You wonder what he’s worried about.
“See you in a few.” He murmurs, turning over and facing away from you. You sigh, searching his back. You don’t really know why you care; you hardly know the man. But damn, has he been good at squeezing into your skin? “See ya.” You reply, even quieter.
Switching back to your real body is always jarring. Your heart feels like it's about to burst from your chest, and your head pounds for the briefest of moments before everything settles, and you reacclimate to human senses. The pod lifts with a soft click, and you sit up with a tiny sigh. Rubbing your head while you sit there, you overhear Patel say, “Welcome back.”
Looking over, you see Jake look at his legs with a sigh of disappointment. That’s what had him down. You can’t blame him. “Hey, let's go get something to eat. And I heard our pilot tomorrow is Trudy Chacón, I wanna meet her if you wanna come with?” He gives you a lazy smirk, “Sure, pretty girl. Lead the way.”
_________
The next morning is a fucking thrill! Trudy was a joy last night; she’s obviously a star at piloting the small craft. Jake sits at the side as one of the door guns. You sit behind him, unable to tear your eyes away from the beauty that is Pandora. Flying past giant trees, it feels like you could almost just reach out and touch them. You know better, of course. No need to go flinging yourself out of a moving aircraft on your first day. You shout as Trudy flies past the waterfall, your hair and Jake’s hair whipping in the wind. Jake follows short, letting out his own hoot with a grin.
Trudy lets the craft hover, Jake and Wainfleet hopping off to check the perimeter before she completely lands. When they signal the all clear, she lands with ease. You grab your pack, head for the edge, when Jake pops up with an easy grin and offers his hand to you as you step out. You fucking take it, because of course you do. He’s cute. What about it? “Thank you.”
“Anything for my pretty girl.” Goddamn, he’s got to stop. You avoid Grace and Norm’s very pointed stares, checking the state of your backpack. You hear Grace tell Trudy to shut the engine off through the comms, and finally, the sounds of the forest truly reach your ears for the first time. It’s amazing.
“Stay with the ship. One idiot with a gun is enough.” Grace orders towards Wainfleet. You squint at him when you see the absolute glee on his face. “You the man, Doc.”
“Pussy.” You murmur under your breath. Wainfleet would have never heard it with his human-limited senses. Jake, however, hears it and lets out a soft snort. “You’re cold-blooded, Stark.”
And you already fucking miss him calling you ‘pretty girl’. That’s so not fair.
But he takes the lead, Grace and Norm following him through the forest. You’re too excited, looking for any of the animals, not really paying attention to their fascination with the plants and fungal network of the land.
Monkey-like creatures swing into view, and you can’t help the giddy noise that bubbles from your chest. Jake quickly raises his rifle, and you place a hand on his arm. “They’re not aggressive, Jake. Prolemuris. Kinda like the lemurs they had back home in the zoos.” The Prolemuris in front of us takes a fruit from the tree, staring at Jake and you with a strangely sentient look before swinging away with one last hoot.
“Relax, Marine.” Grace shoves the muzzle of the rifle down gently, “You’re making me nervous.” Jake huffs, shaking off the encounter and giving you a shrug.
Norm interrupts the quietness that had taken over your small group. “So, how will they know we’re here?” They, probably meaning the native Na’vi people. Most likely, the Omatikaya clan Grace has previously interacted with.
“I’m sure they’re watching us right now.”
You cringe at Grace’s answer, not at all comforted by the thought. “That’s…nice.”
“Keep moving, Norm,” Jake grumbles from the back. You can feel his eyes on you, though. You’re not sure if that comforts you any more than the fact that Omitkaya warriors might be keeping an eye on you as well.
After a long trek, Grace finally stops the group, setting her pack down. Norm pants beside her, excited to take samples of the plants. You huff, crossing your arms. You know a little of Pandoran Botany, but more than anything, you know the wildlife like the back of your hand.
Norm and Grace mumble as they take samples. You follow Jake further into the forest, hearing the last of their conversation before you get too far. “Norm, you’ve contaminated the sample with your saliva.” You snort at Grace’s exhausted tone.
You follow Jake closely into a field of some kind of plant. He looks over his shoulder at you with a sly grin. “You know what these are?”
You purse your lips, shaking your head. “No clue, not my field.” He chuckles, tilting his head curiously at a plant before touching it. You both jump backwards when the plant shrinks to the size of a sapling in a second. You tilt your head, “must be some sort of defense mechanism to keep herbivores from eating them-Jake!”
He continues to touch more with a laugh, causing them to shrink, and then a chain reaction goes off, causing several at once.
Big mistake. A juvenile Hammerhead Titanothere, Angtsìk, trumpets at you and Jake in warning. He reflexively raises his rifle. You freeze, grabbing Jake by the arm. “Do not shoot, it won't do anything except piss him off.”
“Jake, I’m serious. The armor’s too thick.” You glance over your shoulder, seeing Grace and Norm in a blind corner. “It’s a territorial threat display. Stand your ground, or he’ll charge at us.”
“Jesus.” Jake breathes out, whipping his head between you, Grace, and the Angtsìk. “So, what do I do, dance with it?”
“Just hold your ground,” Grace warns lowly, her eyes wide and serious.
Jake and I stand still. Then the Angtsìk charges with a deafening roar. Jake barely hesitates before charging himself with a scream. You tilt your head, relieved, but confused as to why it backed down. It shouldn’t have been threatened by Jake.
Jake, too exhilarated to think of anything other than his perceived success, cheers. “Yeah? Come on! What you got? Oh, yeah. Who's bad? That's right. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, bitch. That's right, get your punk ass back to mommy. Yeah? Yeah, you got nothing. You keep running. Yeah, and why don't you bring back some of your friends, huh?”
The hair at the back of your neck stands up, and you hear the smallest crunch of leaves behind you. You quite literally feel your blood run cold as you turn around to face a Thanator, otherwise known as the Palulukan.
“Jake.”
You hear Grace through the comms, “Oh shit.”
The Thanator jumps over you and Jake, focused on the titanotheres before turning to corner you both against the tree it just climbed out of. Jake takes the forward position again, keeping you behind him. “So what about this one? Run? Don't run? What?”
You grab his arm, yanking backwards, “Run.”
“Definitely run.” Grace echoes through the comms, and Jake doesn't need to hear anymore before he’s pulling you deeper into the forest.
The thanator snarls as it catches up to you and Jake within a matter of seconds. Jake slips through a crevice in the tree roots, shoving you forward as he turns around to see the Thanator burst through the tree itself. You stumble through a bamboo forest, grunting from the strain of practically running an obstacle course with very little training. You’re comforted by the very close sounds of Jake grunting from the strain as well; at least he’s still with you. You feel the Thanator snarl right behind you, crashing into a bamboo stalk. You know better than to turn around, letting out a small screech of fright as you duck away, trailing after Jake.
Jake slides under a giant tree with its roots exposed, which almost looks like a cage. He pulls you under, you slide to a stop next to him, scrambling to sit up. The Thanator digs with a single limb, claws just about six-inches long. Jake ducks just in time as the Thanator is able to shove its head into the tree roots. The Thanator pulls a root loose with its teeth, and Jake sets loose a spray of bullets from the rifle, roaring himself. He’s got sharp canines, your wildlife biology-trained brain notices. Two canines, which are unusual for Na’vi and avatars. You absentmindedly touch your own before Jake loses the gun to the Thanator. Your eyes widen. Fuck.
The thanator crashes into the roots of the tree, and you pant as Jake pulls you from the hiding place with a rough and desperate hand. He pushes you harder through the dense forest, thick leaves and vines, leaving tiny scratches across your faces and limbs. Neither of you truly cares; running for your lives takes precedent. He gives one last final push before the Thanator launches from a fallen tree, getting a hold of Jake’s pack. You hesitate, reaching for him as he releases himself from the pack, falling several feet away with a pained grunt. You brave a glance back as you help him up, the thanator’s sensory quills flare as it hisses. Jake pulls you, a tight grip on your upper arm as he jumps towards the waterfall. You glance up to see the Thanator giving up the chase just as you land in the water.
You lose Jake in the fall, grasping desperately for him but only finding rocks. You surface with a great gasp for air, seeing further down the river. “Jake!” He’s braced on a grouping of tree roots. You struggle to swim towards him, the current fast and unforgiving. He catches your hand just in time, before the current can sweep you further into the river. He pulls you closer to the bank of the river, his eyes roving over you intensely.
His thumb touches your cheek, and he tries to wipe a small scratch clean of blood. Panting, he grins. “You good, pretty girl?” You nod breathlessly, looking up to see the thanator prowling restlessly. “We should probably get out of here before it decides to climb down.”
He looks up at himself with a weary huff, pushing you further up the tree roots towards the bank. “Hope we get paid extra for this if we survive.”
You snort, pulling him up onto the bank. “If we don’t get fired first.”
“Jesus,” you murmur as you feel your body come back from being in cryosleep. You blink lazily, seeing the small chamber you’re in lit up with blue lights. The last vestiges and evidence of the cryo-freeze floats through the air in small bubbles. Your brain takes a while to catch up, realizing you are still in zero gravity.
The cryo chambers/pod opens up into a world of bodies. Truthfully, you wouldn’t mind going back in, whatever.
You groan as the man next to you speaks to a doctor who's trying very diligently to check everyone’s awareness and vitals. “Are we there yet?”
“Yeah, we’re there, sunshine.” He smiles, patting the distracted man’s chest. “We’re there.”
You unbuckle the strap from your chest, slowly floating through the ship to find your locker—the doctor drones on in the lamest tone of voice ever. Damn, dude, we’ve been asleep, put some pep in it. “You've been in cryo for five years, nine months, and days. You will be hungry. You will be weak. If you feel nausea, please use the sacks…” You scoff, forgoing listening to him. They gave us this talk before putting us to sleep. You’ll be fine without a reminder.
The man who was next to you in the chambers also has the locker next to you. You give him a small smile. “Doesn’t really feel like six years, does it?” He smirks, shaking his head, “Nah, more like a fifth of tequila and an ass-kicking.”
You snort, grabbing your pack and throwing it over your shoulder as you hold out your hand, “I’m (Y/N) Stark.”
He grabs your hand with a firm but gentle grip, “Jake Sully.”
You blink in surprise. Sully? “Like Tom Sully? I never met him, but we were selected for this excursion together.”
“Ha, yeah, well, now you got me.” He offers lamely, not even looking at you. You shrug; it’s a reasonable reaction to remembering what was the untimely death of a family member.
“Heard about that…I’m sorry for your loss,” you murmur towards him. When you glance at him, his demeanor seems chill enough, and you can’t stop the thought from crossing your lips quickly enough. “You’re probably cooler anyway…” You wince as it comes out, opening your mouth to apologize before he lets out a loud chuckle. “Damn right. He was smarter, though, too bad I had to pick up this gig to make up for the billions of trillions of dollars they spent on it.”
You let out a soft sigh of relief, smiling at him. “I don’t even want to know how much money they spent on those things. They were tiny, the last I saw of them.” You look out the small viewing window, Pandora looming before you. “Looks a lot like Earth, doesn’t it? I can’t believe how far away it is.”
“Always grew up hearing about it, but I never figured I’d be going there.” He answers quietly, moving through the tight walkway.
“Well…” you murmur softly, seeing that I have to travel to a different side of the small craft that will take us down to Pandora. “Guess I’ll see you down there.” He smiles, giving you a lazy salute as you separate.
The ride was quick, and good God is it swelteringly hot down here. The exo-pack squeezes your face uncomfortably. What’s even more uncomfortable is the amount of disgusting fucking men down here. Within the last twenty minutes, you’ve been catcalled more times than you ever have on Earth. Guess there’s slim pickings here on Pandora.
You skitter up to the cafeteria, sitting next to Norm Spellman, whom you had met prior during the Avatar driving program training. Colonel Miles Quaritch makes a hell of a show during the safety debrief.
“You are not in Kansas anymore.” Jesus, could he be anymore ominous with it? You keep the small smile to yourself as you tilt your head down. Eh, he may be a jackass, but he’s funny.
“You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day. If there is a hell, you might want to go there for some R&R after a tour on Pandora.” He walks up the middle of the aisle slowly. The man is older and has a significant scar on the side of his face. Jesus, that’s from a Viperwolf. Vicious things. It’s a wonder he made it out with only a scar.
“Out there, beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for Jujubes.” He drones on, but you’ve already distracted yourself by looking out the giant window behind him. You’ve studied the animals on Pandora since you were a little girl. You know what's out there; there’s nothing new he can tell you.
“We have an indigenous population of humanoids called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin that'll stop your heart in one minute. And they have bones reinforced with naturally occurring carbon fiber. They are very hard to kill. As head of security, it is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed. Not with all of you. If you wish to survive, you need to cultivate a strong mental attitude. You've got to obey the rules. Pandora rules.” You glance around at half the people in here, probably too stupid to clean out the filter in their exo-pack. Yeah, those guys are definitely dying first.
When it finally ends, you stand up, leaving Norm to go up to the lab before anyone else. He got distracted by something else anyway. You literally don’t care. You’re getting the brownie points with Augustine.
You hear that little shit enter the biolab as I’m looking at your own Avatar, you glance over your shoulder, seeing that he’s got Jake with him. Oooh. Jake.
“How’re you doing? Norm, Avatar driver-” You roll your eyes as he tries to establish a role of dominance just because of the driver program. It almost makes you want to laugh out loud. You see Jake get distracted by the Avatars as Norm tries to lead him to the link room. You give Jake a small smile, noticing his wheelchair for the first time, but you don’t bother to say anything about it.
“Damn! They got big.” Jake laughs, looking at the bodies floating in their chambers. You grin, waving him over.
“Right? They’re huge now. Pretty much fully grown,” you hum, looking between the three avatar bodies. Knowing these are a mix of human and Pandoran native DNA is… frightening, almost.
“Yeah, they fully mature on the flight out. So the proprioceptive sims seem to work really well.” Norm is practically vibrating just looking at his avatar. You snort softly, moving to stand next to Jake and look at his after Patel points it out.
“Looks like him,” Jake mutters quietly. You bump his shoulder with your hip. “Looks like you, Jake. Remember, we came to the conclusion that you are the cooler twin.” You grin playfully down at him. Good god, this man is troubleeeeee.
“This is your avatar now, Jake.” Norm offers gently, with a small smile.
You snort softly to yourself as Jake tries attempt a video diary that Augustine makes us participate in. “And the concept is that every driver is matched to his own avatar, so that their nervous systems are in tune, or something. Which is why they offered me the gig, because I can link with Tommy's avatar, which is insanely expensive. Is this right? I just say whatever to the video log?”
Norm huffs, “uh yeah, we gotta get in the habit of documenting everything. You know, what we see, what we feel. It's all part of the science.”
“And good science is good observation,” Patel adds, very unhelpfully, you might think.
“Plus, it'll help to keep you sane for the next six years.” Norm finishes with a small chuckle, going back to chatting with Patel.
You slide over to Jake at the camera, sitting next to him in the view. “They just wanna pick your brain in these. I always thought it was kinda dumb too, but it’s a hell of a lot easier than typing it out.”
He huffs, adjusting the camera awkwardly, “All right. Whatever.”
“So, uh... Well, here I am, doing science.” He huffs with a tiny smile at how ridiculous he sounds. We both chuckle at his inflection, and you continue to help him refine his style of video logging.
After a while, a scientist calls out, “They’re coming out!”
You perk up because this means - “Attention. Drivers coming out of link.” Meaning that Dr. Grace Augustine is about to wake up. You jump up from the chair with a little more than enough enthusiasm, motioning for Jake to follow.
“Who’s got my goddamn cigarette?” Dr. Augustine’s voice sounds throughout the link room with authority. I’m practically beaming next to Jake. You could recognize her voice anywhere, having watched all kinds of documentaries and lectures she’s given.
“Guys! What's wrong with this picture?” And soon enough, a younger tech delivers the cigarette, silently handing Grace her lab coat. “Thank you!”
Norm pushes past Jake and you, grinning like a kid. “Grace Augustine is a legend. She's the head of the Avatar Program. She wrote the book, I mean, literally wrote the book on Pandoran botany.” Patel huffs with a small smile, “Well, that's 'cause she likes plants better than people.”
“Here she is, Cinderella back from the ball.” Patel motions towards our group of three. “Grace, I'd like you to meet Norm Spellman, (Y/N) Stark, and Jake Sully.” You see her analyze the group, landing on Norm first.
“Norm. I hear good things about you. How's your Na'vi?” He pauses for a moment before speaking, “May the All Mother…smile upon our first meeting.”
Grace smiles, “Not bad. You sound a little formal.” And Norm fucking giggles, “I studied for five years…but there is much to learn.”
Patel finally gets Grace’s attention by calling her name. You take the brief chance to give Norm a side-eye. The little shit is already trying to one-up you with Grace and get her to like him better. Yeah, right, Jake has a better chance at that.
“This is (Y/N) Stark, and Jake Sully.” Jake reaches out a hand to politely shake with her, and she shuts him down quickly.
“I know who you are, and I don't need you. I need your brother. You know, the PhD who trained for three years for this mission?” She huffs, giving Jake a dry look. I physically cringe, jeez.
“He’s dead.” Jake offers lamely, “I know it's a big inconvenience for everyone.”
Grace pauses, sizing him up. “How much lab training have you had?” Jake smirks, shrugging, “I dissected a frog once.”
She glowers at him, practically fuming, “You see? You see? I mean, they're just pissing on us without even the courtesy of calling it rain. I'm going to Selfridge.”
“Wait-” You call out before she gets too far. “Dr. Augustine, I’m (Y/N) Stark, your Wildlife Biologist…” She inhales sharply, giving you a look. “You look capable. I’m sorry to cut this short, but this is such bullshit.” You deflate slightly as she continues to walk away, muttering. “I'm going to kick his corporate butt. He has no business sticking his nose in my department.”
She did at least compliment you, but it was a little disheartening. They do say ‘never meet your heroes.’ Patel stands next to you and Jake with a sigh. He leans down to speak with Jake. “Here tomorrow. 0800. Try and use big words.”
“So, how much link time have you logged?” Grace asks, looking towards Norm and you for an answer. “About 520 hours.” Norm smiles, giving you a sly look from the corner of his eye. “That’s good. You’re in this one, Spellman. Stark, how about you?”
You glance up, mulling it over. “Probably about 500.” She nods, pointing to the next link bed. “You’re here.”
She stops at Jake, her hands on her hips with an already exasperated expression on her face as she turns to check the computer by Jake's bed. “How much have you logged?” He pokes the gelatinous material of the bed. “Zip. But I read a manual.”
You would've thought he said he just killed Grace’s dog by the absolute look of disbelief on her face. “Tell me you're joking.” Jake shoves his whole finger down to the knuckle into the bed, ignoring Grace. “This is cool.” You snicker, turning away quickly when Grace shoots you an unimpressed look.
You hop into your own link bed. The lights whirl above you as you close your eyes.
Chapters: 2/?
Fandom: Avatar (Cameron Movies), Avatar - Fandom
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Jake Sully/Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, Jake Sully/Reader, Jake Sully/Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite/Reader, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite/Reader
Characters: Jake Sully, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, Grace Augustine, Norm Spellman, Human Miles Quaritch, Trudy Chacón, Human Lyle Wainfleet, Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan, Mo'at (Avatar - Cameron), Eytukan te Tskaha Kamun'itan, Eywa (Avatar - Cameron), Original Na'vi Character(s) (Avatar - Cameron), Original Human Character(s) in Avatar Bodies (Avatar - Cameron), Original RDA Character(s) (Avatar - Cameron)
Additional Tags: Rewrite, AFAB | Assigned Female at Birth Reader-Insert, Female Reader-Insert
Summary:
Avatar (2009) rewrite with a reader insert?? bro i just wanted to read sumthin like this so bad, so I just made it. I'm following the canon story, just adding YOU.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Avatar (Cameron Movies), Avatar - Fandom
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Jake Sully/Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, Jake Sully/Reader, Jake Sully/Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite/Reader, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite/Reader
Characters: Jake Sully, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, Grace Augustine, Norm Spellman, Human Miles Quaritch, Trudy Chacón, Human Lyle Wainfleet, Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan, Mo'at (Avatar - Cameron), Eytukan te Tskaha Kamun'itan, Eywa (Avatar - Cameron), Original Na'vi Character(s) (Avatar - Cameron), Original Human Character(s) in Avatar Bodies (Avatar - Cameron), Original RDA Character(s) (Avatar - Cameron)
Additional Tags: Rewrite, AFAB | Assigned Female at Birth Reader-Insert, Female Reader-Insert
Summary:
Avatar (2009) rewrite with a reader insert?? bro i just wanted to read sumthin like this so bad, so I just made it. I’m following the canon story, just adding YOU.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Avatar (Cameron Movies), Avatar - Fandom
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Jake Sully/Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, Jake Sully/Reader, Jake Sully/Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite/Reader, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite/Reader
Characters: Jake Sully, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, Grace Augustine, Norm Spellman, Human Miles Quaritch, Trudy Chacón, Human Lyle Wainfleet, Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan, Mo'at (Avatar - Cameron), Eytukan te Tskaha Kamun'itan, Eywa (Avatar - Cameron), Original Na'vi Character(s) (Avatar - Cameron), Original Human Character(s) in Avatar Bodies (Avatar - Cameron), Original RDA Character(s) (Avatar - Cameron)
Additional Tags: Rewrite, AFAB | Assigned Female at Birth Reader-Insert, Female Reader-Insert
Summary:
Avatar (2009) rewrite with a reader insert?? bro i just wanted to read sumthin like this so bad, so I just made it. I'm following the canon story, just adding YOU.
Summary: In life, we will be confronted with difficult choices. Sometimes you won't know you've made the wrong choice until it's too late
Pairing: Poly 141 x reader
Word Count: 12,582 words
Warnings: Dead dove: do not eat, Angst, graphic violence and torture, mentions of predatory behavior towards a minor, Phillip Graves is a major creep, lots blood and injuries, kidnapping and its aftermath, hostage situations, anxiety and panic attacks, language, very explicitly described torture, ‘mega gets hit a lot, choking, biting, ‘mega gets stabbed with an ice pick, author can’t write COD missions, vomiting, lots of heavy emotions, detailed descriptions of pain, guns, background character dies on screen, descriptions of guilt and grief, lots of POV changes, some descriptive language of gore and blood at the end, rehashing of ‘mega’s injuries from the last chapter, a lot of angst and very heavy content.
A/N: This chapter deals with some pretty heavy content. Please, please, please read and heed the warnings. I have included content warnings for the more graphic parts before they happen, so if you don't want to read those, you can skip ahead to the next part. I suggest taking breaks if you need to, read it in installments if necessary. And I cannot stress it enough, please heed the warnings.
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“Hi darlin’.” His grin widens like he’s happy to see you. “Been a long time.”
You squeeze your eyes shut for a moment, your brain still sluggish. You feel sick as you try to process, try to figure out why and how. You try to move your arms again, but your wrists are stuck, hands burning as you pull. You desperately want them free, desperately need them free.
“Easy,” Phil says, putting his hands on yours, pushing them flat against the arms of the chair. They’re warm and calloused, the same hand that had been on your face a few moments ago. “You’re gonna hurt yourself. More than you already have been.” He lifts your left leg, making you groan quietly as a deep ache throbs down to your foot and up to your hip.
Running. A gunshot. Pain.
“He had strict orders not to harm you.” Phil says, adjusting the bandage wrapped around your calf. “Don’t worry. We got you all fixed up.” He sets your leg back down gingerly, his touch lingering for a moment before he looks back up at you.
“Why?” You croak out, trying to make sense of what happened.
Corporal McKinney broke into the barracks and chased you into the woods. He shot you and drugged you and now you’re here, restrained in a chair staring at a man you haven’t seen for years. A man who was once your dad’s best friend.
“A lot has happened since we saw each other last.” He says, pushing himself to stand. “I left the Marines after a few years, formed my own group of military contractors. Invited your dad to join, but you know how he is. All honor and duty and serving the country. Of course, you haven’t seen him in quite a while, have you?”
You stare up at him, starting to get scared. You never liked Phil. There was always something about him that put you off. He always stared too long, always sat too close to you. He always greeted you with a hug that lasted too long, squeezing you too tightly against him. He was sweet on you in a way he wasn’t with anyone else. He could be intense, brash and almost downright rude sometimes. He was a firm believer in traditional packs too, even if he never spoke about his own pack, his own omega. He had to have one, if he was as dedicated as he said.
He was far too much like your father.
Phil was always kinder to you, though. Softer. Not quite as callous and bellicose as your father in public. He was polite, always happy to lend a hand, always glad to roughhouse with your brothers to get their energy out. You saw the way your mother looked at him though. Perhaps her apprehension bled into you, those dormant omega instincts picking up on something she was projecting.
He made you uncomfortable, and she knew it.
What could an omega do, though, in a world where they don’t have opinions, they can’t argue, they can’t disagree. Your mother never said anything because in the world your family existed in, the world Phil existed in, she couldn’t.
“He was so angry when he called.” Phil continues, staring down at you. “Ranting and raving about how his oldest daughter betrayed him by presenting as an omega. He couldn’t stand having such a useless child in his perfect pack.” You flinch at his words, even though you heard your father spew those very words after your presentation firsthand.
“He called you?” You ask, the pieces starting to come together as your brain finally snaps fully into awareness. You knew he called someone, but you hadn’t thought it would ever be Phil.
“Of course.” Phil chuckles. “We were good friends, pals, buddies. He knew I could help him.” A shiver runs down your spine. You know what he’s going to say next. “So I did. I have some contacts in some high places, people who owe me favors. So I made some calls, pulled some strings, got you into FIOT immediately, with some strings attached of course.” He leans down so you’re almost face to face. “I wanted you. They put a note in your file. You wouldn’t be placed in the registry when you were old enough, you would go to me and my pack.”
Bile churns in your stomach as you process his words. It all makes sense now. The stares, the hugs, the closeness with your father, your rapid enrollment in an institute that can take weeks to process applications. It was all so you could be his. Something he’s wanted from early on.
“You would have been mine,” He pushes himself up straight again, starting to pace back and forth in front of you. “If the fucking CIA hadn’t gotten involved!” You flinch as his voice raises, the frustration starting to darken his scent. “They froze your file, made the claim null and void. All for what, their little initiative that never really existed in the first place?” He huffs out a laugh, a smirk tilting his lips. “Small world, though. Who knew we’d be seeing each other again after so long.”
He steps closer, looking down at you. You hold his gaze, suddenly feeling afraid. Even though you know him, even though you spent a good part of your childhood around him, you’re afraid of him right now. Your mind starts to revert back, the urge to lower your eyes, break eye contact like you’re supposed to flashing through your mind.
Don’t stare alphas in the eyes. They’ll take that as a challenge. It’s not your job to challenge them. Your job is to be subservient.
You would have been subservient to him if the CIA hadn’t gotten involved. You would have been under his control, bowing to him and his will. You’d have pups by now, at least one. He’d always talked about having a big pack with lots of pups someday, always glancing at you when he said it.
You’re going to vomit all over him.
It’s not just the truth that scares you, though. You’re being held captive here. That thought has registered in your mind now, the reality settling in as you get over the shock of the last few minutes. Corporal McKinney kidnapped you from base, and now you’re restrained in a chair surrounded by unknown alphas. Phil isn’t going to help you, take pity on you. He’s not here to be nice, to have a little chat and catch up on life.
That possibly ended as soon as he was denied what he wanted.
His hand cups your chin, holding your face up as he looks down at you. His thumb is rough as it strokes your jaw, a tickling feeling starting in the back of your mind again. There’s an almost bittersweet look in his eyes as he holds your gaze. You refuse to lower it, refuse to give him that satisfaction. “You’ve grown up a lot.” He says, his hand sliding down your neck to the collar of your shirt. “You always were cute, though. I knew early on you were going to be an omega. You were far too...calm and compliant compared to your brothers. Always so polite and eager to please. You can tell if you pay attention, you know. Those dormant instincts start to show themselves long before presentation.”
His hand pulls your collar to the side, revealing your mark. His eyes harden as he stares at it, his lips turning down into a frown. A shiver runs down your spine as the darkness in his scent intensifies. He’s not holding you hostage just to tell you about what could have been, what direction your life might have taken. He’s here for a reason, and you know your pack is involved. Something has happened, something behind the scenes, something John was looking into.
“What’s going on?” You ask as he releases your collar, taking a step back.
“Well, you’re being held hostage.” He says, like it isn’t already obvious. “You’re...shall we say...leverage to ensure your pack follows orders.”
You blink at him. You haven’t heard from or spoken to your pack in weeks. You should be relieved that they’re apparently still alive, but what if you had been right and they don’t want you anymore? Why would they take you if your pack has abandoned you? Or did they take you to ensure they wouldn’t...
“Laswell stuck her nose somewhere it shouldn’t have been.” Phil says, crossing his arms. “It’s only so long before your pack finds out. Let’s just say...they’re not going to be happy about it. So, to ensure they don’t do something impulsive and reckless as they are known to do, you’re going to play hostage.”
You gulp as you stare up at him, suddenly feeling very afraid. Your scent spikes in the air, clouding it with the bitter scent of anxiety. It was the plan all along. You knew it even if you hadn’t been told outright. Deep down you’ve always known it wasn’t about strengthening packs. It wasn’t about studying how an omega would increase or decrease the efficiency of military packs. With the events of the last few months, the idea had started to form in your mind. You know you weren’t alone in those thoughts. John and Simon were digging into the cameras for a reason. They were put up for a reason.
It was always about control.
That was the point of the initiative. That was why they put cameras up, that was why General Shepherd was so invested in the state of your pack and if you had been mated. He needed to ensure you were close enough to them so if something happened that wasn’t supposed to, you could be used against them.
You’re nothing more than leverage.
Your scent spikes in the air, clouding the room as reality sinks into you. Something happened that caused this. Something called your pack away to isolate you, to leave you vulnerable. They wanted you alone as a contingency.
Something did happen.
Now you’re here, being held captive by a man you used to know, a man who could have been your alpha had things not played out the way they did. The thought has your stomach churning. How far will they go? How far will Phil take things? Could he be merciful because of your history? Or will his ruined plan make him more ruthless?
You’ll be punished for something you can’t control.
Phil makes a soft sound as he looks at you, shaking with fear in the chair. “Don’t be scared. As long as your pack does as they’re told, I won’t have to hurt you.” He turns the light back to face you, nearly blinding you. “Now, smile for the camera.”
They’re safe.
It had been close. A rough position to be in, but they managed it. He never doubted them and their abilities, but four against nearly fifty with no backup were not good odds. He’s been in tighter places before, and while he had his doubts, he is grateful Johnny and Simon were sent in when they were. Even if it was a bit suspicious.
“All accounted for.” John says as he sinks down onto one of the jump seats next to Kyle.
They’re all battered and bruised from their final fight. He’s ready to get home, ready to get back to you. From the sound of it, things were not going well, according to Johnny and Simon. He has a lot to make up for, a lot of apologies to make.
“Fucking Russian PMCs.” He says, speaking to Kate over the comms. “It’s not a coincidence Kate.”
Kate lets out a sigh that crackles through the comm. “No, it’s not. My team and I came across some information while we were digging into the cameras.”
“What information?” He asks slowly and carefully. He doesn’t like being kept in the dark, especially when it comes to his pack. Especially when it comes to you.
“Not just information on the initiative, but information on General Shepherd.”
“What information?” He asks again, slower this time as Johnny and Simon move in closer.
“Shepherd was the one that sold those weapons to AQ and the Russians.”
John looks at the other three members of his team. He knew something was wrong, something was off about the way Shepherd had acted while informing them about this mission. “He wanted those missiles found and destroyed so he could cover his own ass.” He says, his stomach starting to twist. He doesn’t like the way this is going.
“But we found out the truth before you could find all the missiles.” Kate continues. “He sent you on a wild goose chase to give himself a chance to escape.”
John’s hand tightens into a fist. “Where is he now?”
“He’s gone dark. Totally off radar.”
John pushes himself up to stand, the adrenaline pumping again. “I’m going to find that bastard-”
“John.” Kate says, cutting him off. “There’s something else.”
The twisting in his stomach intensifies. There’s a bad feeling tickling in the back of his mind. He doesn’t want to entertain the dark thoughts that are brewing. “What?”
“They took your omega.”
His stomach clenches, his breath catching in his lungs. The other three shift on their feet, all of them stepping closer. The scent in the plane thickens, anger and confusion mixing into a toxic cocktail. He hopes he heard that wrong, that there was some kind of interference in the connection and his brain made up the words he missed. “Repeat that.”
“They took your omega.” Kate says again.
He lets out a long breath, his muscles tensing. He’s had a bad feeling tickling in the back of his mind for the last few days. Something was wrong, something was off. He should have known it was all a ruse. Why would AQ and the Russians store a missile in any of the places they had been sent to in the last week? It hadn’t made sense, and he had wanted to voice his doubts, but the consequences of a missile being launched because they decided not to look in one place was greater than his own perceived doubts.
They had been right though.
Of course it had all been a plan. Of course there had been something fishy about it. He’s hardly ever wrong. He’s been praised on his instincts on the field and off. He should have known. Pulling Simon and Johnny when they did should have been enough evidence, even if they had been needed in the end.
“You’re positive?” He knows she is. There’s no mistaking something like that, there’s no doubting it.
“There’s a video.” Kate says, John’s stomach dropping. “I’m sending it to you now.”
John pulls out his phone, his fingers white as he holds it up. He’s angry, beyond angry. If they’ve laid a hand on you...if you’ve been hurt because of his own failings, his own inability to see the truth...
He clicks on the video when it comes in, a familiar face popping up on screen. “Hi boys. Been a while.”
“Fucking Graves.” Johnny growls, his hands closing into fists in anger.
“I have a little something of yours I think you might be interested in.” He turns the camera around, your face popping up on screen. You’re restrained in a chair, wrists red from the zip ties, but there’s a glare on your face, looking as mean and threatening as you can. There’s a bruise on your cheek and what looks like a healing cut on your lip. Someone hit you.
“Smile for the camera.” Graves says, a bit too cheerfully.
You don’t smile, your glare sharpening as the camera gets closer to your face. There’s still fight left in you. Whatever has happened hasn’t been too bad. Yet.
“Let’s make this simple.” Graves says. “You stay away from Shepherd, and I won’t have to hurt this pretty little face. She is pretty, isn’t she?”
You shift in the chair, your leg lifting before you kick outward.
“Ow, you little bitch.” The camera jostles for a moment before it’s straightened back up, a hand shooting out to wrap around your throat. There’s no sign of any struggle, the glare still prominent on your face. “Feisty thing. Gotta keep up with those wild boys somehow.”
The hand tilts your face just slightly, showing the mark on your neck. It is you, not that John doubted that from the beginning. It may have been almost two months, but he wouldn’t forget your face that easily.
“Like I said,” Graves continues. “Follow your orders and she’ll be released unharmed.”
The screen goes dark and John resists the urge to throw his phone. He shoves it back into his pocket, turning towards the wall of the plane. He throws his fist against the metal as hard as he can. It hurts, but he can barely feel it over the rage burning hot in him.
“Fucking Shepherd!” He shouts, rearing back to throw his hand against the wall again.
Graves has his omega. Graves has his omega and now you’re being used as leverage. They’re all being played like puppets.
A hand catches his fist before he can punch the wall again, easing him back. “Easy.” Kyle says, trying to soothe him as best he can. “We have proof of life, we know that she’s alright for now.”
“For now.” He growls, looking around at the members of his team. “But for how long?”
“They knew we’d go after Shepherd as soon as we learned the truth.” Simon says. “This has been in the plans for a long time.”
“They’re trying to get us to make a choice. Focus on getting our omega back while letting Shepherd escape, or go after Shepherd and let our omega be tortured.” Kyle says.
“Those fuckin’ wankstains.” Johnny says, shifting on his feet. He’s angry, the bitter scent filling the enclosed area of the plane. They’re all angry, angry at those responsible, and angry at themselves for falling for it. “They were usin’ us the whole time.”
John lets out a long breath. It’s a hard decision to make. Go after Shepherd and cut the head off the snake, or go after you and let the person orchestrating all of this escape. Graves won’t stop, even if they do manage to take out Shepherd. He has his orders, and he will follow them, with or without Shepherd pulling the strings.
There might be a second contingency. They kill Shepherd, you die too.
No matter what, you won’t be safe. If they go after you, Shepherd escapes and if they try to hunt him down later, he’ll use you again, or worse. They don’t have to kill Shepherd, though. They have proof he’s a traitor. He can be brought to justice if he’s caught. Death is too gentle of a punishment for what he’s done. He deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life.
They have to make sacrifices for the good of the world.
“We’re going after Shepherd.” He says, taking a deep breath. “None of us will be safe if we don’t.”
“That’s dangerous, John.” Kate says. “We don’t know how far Shepherd or Graves will take this. You know how Graves is. He may not be able to be stopped, even if Shepherd tells him to.”
He takes a second to breathe. His pack is silent, all three of them staring at him, waiting for him to make this decision. He is pack alpha, he is their Captain. They do what he tells them to do, follow his orders no matter what. Kate is right, this is a risk, but sacrifices have to be made. Hands have to be dirtied to keep the world clean.
He just hopes you’ll forgive him.
“We’re going after Shepherd.” John says definitely.
“This is a bad idea, John.” Kate warns him.
“It’s the only option we have. They’re trying to draw us away. It’s a risk we have to take.” He can see the apprehension on his packmate’s faces. They’re all feeling it, the drive to go after their omega, but deep down he is right. They’ll never be safe until Shepherd is taken care of. Going after Graves only removes one small piece of the puzzle. The job always comes first.
“Get us locations, places he might try to dig in and hide.” He says, heading towards the cockpit. “We’ll find this arsehole and kill him ourselves.
***
Kate lets out a sigh as the comms close off. It’s a mistake. She knows it is. The guilt is eating her alive. She fell for this, she brought you into this, and now you might get hurt because of it. How she didn’t see the reality has shame burning through her. They were all blind, all led astray, all fooled by the red herring.
There was never an initiative. It was never about strengthening packs. It was always about control. They wanted a way to control packs. Shepherd knew if the secret ever came out, there would be no stopping the consequences. Legal or illegal, retribution would come for him if the truth was revealed.
This was his way of stopping it.
That's why the 141 were the guinea pigs.
They are the most dangerous threat to Shepherd, and he handed them a way to control them under the guise of strengthening packs, experimenting on how their dynamics and efficiency would shift with an omega added in. Even worse, they all fell for it.
John is making a mistake. Graves won’t stop so long as Shepherd knows they’re coming after him. The last thing she wants is for you to get hurt because of their decisions, their mistakes. Shepherd won’t order Graves to kill you. That’s too much of a risk. It would give the 141 nothing to lose, and that would put them at their most dangerous.
Will Graves listen to that order?
She can send out a team to get eyes on Graves, find his position at least. That way, if things do take a turn, she’ll at least have a direction to point them in.
They were all too trusting and ignorant. You’re innocent in all of this.
It’s her fault.
They’re going to need help.
Christine can’t sit still anymore. She can't take it. It’s been almost eighteen hours since your disappearance and there’s been nothing. No word, no news. She knows you’re alive. Kate had confirmed that, but that hasn’t eased the burning questions eating away at her mind. What is your current state? Who took you and why? Where is your pack and are they even aware of what’s happening?
She’s been sitting and twirling her thumbs. She can’t bring herself to do any paperwork, any research. What is there to do besides sit and worry? She doesn’t have a patient to take care of because she lost the one she was supposed to watch.
She huffs out a breath, pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing Kate. If Kate won’t call, she’ll call herself. Kate’s probably busy though, so Christine can’t blame her too much for not calling. She’s probably so far from the front of Kate’s mind right now.
The phone rings twice before Kate answers, sounding tired and disheveled, just as much as Christine feels.
“Laswell.”
“Kate, I need to be there.” She doesn't hold back, doesn’t try to make small talk. There’s no time for it. She knows how Kate is doing, and it’s not great.
“Christine, I don’t know if I can take that risk.” She says.
“I need to be there. I can't take sitting around here anymore, and when you find her, she’s going to need someone she knows there, someone that knows how to take care of her.” Christine lets out a breath, the relief of getting her thoughts out taking some of the weight off her shoulders.
Kate sighs, but she has to know Christine is right. She’s not sure what state you’re in, and depending on how bad it is, and where your pack is, you’re going to need her. Even if you think she was behind this. “I’ll have a plane ready to go in thirty minutes.”
“Thank you, Kate.” She says, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Don’t miss the flight.”
Christine hangs up, gathering a couple things from her office before closing and locking her door. She nearly runs to her barracks, packing a bag quickly. She’s not sure what to bring, or how long this will take. She’s not even sure exactly where she’s going.
She hurries to the airfield, phone in hand. She’s not sure where the plane is or which one she’s taking. She’s just relieved Kate is doing this for her.
Her phone buzzes as she reaches the tarmac, making her puse. She lets out an annoyed sigh before answering the call.
“Of course you have to call at the worst possible moment.” She says.
“I’ve always had the worst timing.” Alex’s voice comes through the speaker, and she can almost hear the smile on his face.
“I can’t talk long. I’m about to board a plane.” She says.
“I know. We’ll pick you up on the tarmac.”
She blinks in surprise. It’s been years since she’s seen her brother, months since she’s spoken with him. Ever since he retired from Delta Force, his regular calls have been happening less and less, and they’ve reached near radio silence over the last couple years. Now he’s involved in this too?
“Kate called in a favor.” He continues, and that’s all she needs to know. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Yeah.” She says, tears brimming in her eyes as she smiles. Despite everything, she’s glad she gets to see her brother again. Glad she has some support in this. Your pack will be mad. They’ll blame her. She’s not afraid of them, but she knows Alex will stand behind her no
**Content Warning: light torture, ‘mega gets punched, further injury to previous injuries, panic attack**
Your hands are starting to go numb. The constant attempts to free yourself from the zip ties isn’t helping, but you’re beginning to get twitchy. Your omega is scratching at the back of your mind, begging to be free, but you know you won’t survive it. The room is full of armed mercenaries, and you’re sure if you tried to take out Phil first, you’d be pumped full of bullets before you could even do any damage.
He’s leaning against the wall far too casually, staring at the phone he’d used to record the first video of you. His explanation had been simple. Your pack stops going after General Shepherd, you don’t get hurt. The longer they chase Shepherd, the more Phil gets to torture you until they decide your life is worth more than Shepherd’s.
Will they choose you over Shepherd? What if they’ve already decided to abandon you? What if your fears were right and they’ve given up, and that’s why they were gone so long? They won’t care what happens to you, if they have written you off as a burden, as a loss. They’ll let Phil torture you to death and they won’t even blink an eye. You’ll just be another casualty.
It makes your stomach hurt, the idea of your pack letting you die. Even the idea of someone who had once been a friend of your family being so cold towards you has nausea bubbling in your belly. He doesn’t care. His only worry is money, not the past. He doesn’t care. He’ll do the bidding of whoever offers the highest price.
He lets out a sigh, pocketing his phone as he pushes himself off of the wall. “Looks like your boys don’t follow orders well.” He bends down, putting his hands on his knees so he’s face to face with you. “They’ve decided to leave you here with me. Looks like Shepherd was wrong. They don’t really care about you as much as everyone thought they did. Makes me sad, them abandoning you so easily.”
You try to ignore his words, try to convince yourself he’s doing it on purpose, trying to mentally break you. Yet you can’t deny those words play exactly into your doubts, your fears. Have they really left you here, choosing Shepherd over you? Would they decide to do that? How easy had that decision been made?
Tears blur your vision as you stare up at Phil, your eyes burning as you try to put on the bravest face you can. You won’t let him have the satisfaction of knowing he’s getting to you, playing into your fears.
“Unfortunately, that means I have to hurt you.” He stands up straight, staring down at you for a moment before pulling his fist back, hitting you across the face.
You see stars for a moment, your head snapping to the side. The left side of your face is numb, the taste of metal flooding over your tongue. You’re bleeding, blood pooling in your mouth. A hand grips your chin, pulling you back so you’re sitting up straight in the chair. You stare up at Phil, the fear fading away to anger as you glare up at him. Your face is throbbing, and you know it’s going to swell and bruise later, more than it already has thanks to Corporal McKinney.
Traitorous bastard.
They all are.
“I do feel bad for hurting that pretty face.” He says, stroking your jaw with his thumb.
The movement is impulsive, the anger becoming too much. You spit the blood in your mouth in his face, the droplets splattering across his skin. He turns his head away for a moment, bringing his other hand up to wipe at the blood.
“That wasn’t very nice.” He says, looking down at you.
“Fuck you, you fucking creep!” You yell, kicking at him with your bad leg.
He releases your face, catching your leg easily. He pushes his thumb against the bullet wound, all the fight leaving you as pain tears through your body. You let out a scream, trying to pull your leg away but he won’t let you. He holds his thumb there as you scream, the tears streaming down your face.
“Okay, okay please! Please stop!” You beg, the pain radiating up into your hip and side. You can’t take it anymore, your brain starting to go fuzzy as you hyperventilate.
He releases your leg, his hand wrapping around your throat to lift your face. The tears are streaming down your cheeks, mixing with the blood from the cut on your cheek. There’s no sympathy, not even regret in his eyes as he stares down at you.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but if you can’t behave, I’ll have to do just that.” He releases you as you continue to hyperventilate, your eyes starting to glaze. You’re distressing. Will Phil help you? Will he do what he has to do to keep you alive? If you die, there won’t be anything stopping your pack. The entire plan will be over. They’ll go after Shepherd, then they’ll hunt down Phil.
Cold ice water hits you in the face, shocking you back into clarity. Phil is holding the cup of water he’d been letting you drink from periodically. You blink at him as water drips into your eyes, your breaths hitching but far slower than they had been. You’re awake and aware now.
You didn’t even know it was possible to do that.
“Don’t distress on me now.” He says, putting the cup down. “We have so much ahead of us.” He moves around to the back of your chair, bending down until his breath hits your ear. “Besides, you make me help you out of distress, I might not be able to stop myself.”
Your eyes pinch closed as his lips brush the shell of your ear before he stands back up, tears mixing with the icy water still sliding down your face.
Christine nearly runs down the ramp once the plane has stopped on the runway. She’s jet lagged and worn out after eight hours of worrying, but she’s eager not only to finally get some news on you and your status, but to see her brother for the first time in a long time.
It’s not hard to find him.
“Chrissy!” He grins, hugging her tightly.
She has half a mind to complain about the nickname she’d endured her entire childhood, but she can’t find it in her as she hugs her brother tightly. She’s missed him, more than she realized. Their jobs have kept them busy, her with her medical studies and practice, and Alex with...whatever it is he does.
“It’s been far too long.” She says, pulling away from him. She’d love to stand there and hug him for an hour, but she can’t. They have more important things to do. Time is of the essence, if her worst fears are true.
“A lot has happened, a lot has changed.” He says.
She looks him over, spotting the more noticeable changes in comparison to the last time they were face to face. “You could say that.”
“We can talk about it later.” He turns to the other person with him, a woman. “Christine, this is Farah.” He introduces her. “Farah, this is my baby sister Christine.”
“Nice to meet you.” Farah says, shaking her hand.
“You as well.” Christine looks between them for a moment. She knows that look in Alex’s eyes as he looks at Farah.
“We should get moving.” Farah says, ignoring him.
“Laswell has moved off the grid.” Alex says, opening the driver’s side of the SUV.
Smart, if things are as bad as she thinks they are.
Christine gets into the back, letting out a long breath. She’s closer now to finding out what’s happened to you. The guilt is still eating her alive. If she just hadn’t left, if she hadn’t believed the phone call, put it above your safety.
Things might have been worse if she had stayed.
“Kate filled us in about everything.” Alex says as he drives away from the airfield. “At least in regards to the pack and your involvement.”
“There’s some things she’s not telling us.” Farah says. “Though if things are as bad as they sound, I don’t blame her.”
“I don’t know much of anything.” Christine says, staring out the window as they drive out of the city. “I feel like it’s my fault. If I hadn’t left her alone...”
“It’s hardly your fault.” Alex says, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “If this was all planned, there wouldn’t have been anything that would stop it from happening.”
“They might have done worse if you had stayed there.” Farah says, speaking Christine’s own fears aloud.
“I wish I could see her. Make sure she’s alright.” Christine says. “If something happens to her...”
“From what I hear she’s a hardy omega.” Alex says, trying to comfort her. “She’s withstood a lot. She can survive the 141, she’s probably giving them hell as we speak.”
**Content Warnings: light torture, choking to the point of almost passing out, blood, very detailed descriptions of pain, non-fatal stabbing**
It’s getting hard to breathe. Phil’s grip around your throat is getting tighter and tighter, less and less oxygen getting to your bloodstream and your brain. Your mouth has an almost permanent metallic taste as blood drips down your chin. Blood stains Phil’s arm from where you bit him, teeth marks red and angry looking from where they broke the skin.
“You fucking bitch.” He growls, jaw clenched. “Your alpha should have taught you some manners.”
His hand squeezes tighter, cutting the air off entirely. You begin to panic, tugging against the restrains with your raw, cut up wrists. Black dots begin to dance in your vision, your legs straining against the zip ties keeping them attached to the chair. Your hands and feet are going numb, your entire body tingling. This is it. You’re going to be choked to death.
He holds his hand there for a moment, letting you struggle before he lets go and you suck in a gasp of air. You slump over in the chair, blood splattering on the floor as you cough, your throat raw and sore. Tears burn in your eyes as you heave, trying to get the oxygen flowing through your body again.
Phil bends down to your level as you sit there, head hanging as blood drips from your mouth. Your tongue is raw from how many times you’ve bitten it. It’s impossible to tell how much time has really passed. There’s no windows in the room. The only light source is the cracks around the door behind you. Even then with the bright light in your face constantly, it’s hard to tell anything anymore.
“Feisty still, but everyone has their limits.” His hand cups your chin as he stands, lifting your face to follow him. His hand holds the back of your head up as he wipes at the blood under your nose and on your chin almost gently.
Tears stream down your cheeks as you stare up at him, unable to even care anymore that his hand is so close to your neck. All he has to do is move it down just slightly and squeeze and you’ll be unaware of anything around you, at the mercy of his bidding.
That would almost be a relief.
He dumps another icy cup of water over your head, keeping you from slipping too much into a panic. The cold water stings the cut on your chest and the one on your arm as it slides down your shoulders. You’ve lost the ability to feel the throbbing in your calf, numb to most of the pain in your body.
Why haven’t they come for you? Where is your pack?
Have they written you off for good? Was finding Shepherd more important than you?
Phil’s phone goes off, your stomach dropping. He stares at the screen for a second before turning back to you.
You shake your head, the tears cascading down your cheeks. “No,” You start to shake. “No, please-”
“You know I have to, darlin’.” He moves behind you, tugging on your hair to keep your head up as one of his men stands in front of you with a phone in hand.
He counts down on his fingers before pressing record.
“Seems you boys still can’t follow orders. Your omega sure wishes you would.” Phil says as he reaches around your head, holding your chin in his hand. He tilts your head back making you look up at him. “Don’t you, darlin’. Tell them. Tell them how much you wish they’d follow orders.”
You’re still crying, unable to stop as you stare at the camera. They really have given up on you. They’ve deemed you unworthy of saving. They’ve let you sit here and be beat up and tortured all because they put the job first.
They really have given up on you.
Are they even watching?
“Please,” You croak out, half begging your pack to care, half begging Phil to have mercy.
“Since you can’t seem to bring yourselves to care about your own omega,” He shifts slightly, someone handing him something behind you. You catch a glint of metal, your heart rate picking up. You’re panicking, breaths coming in shaky gasps. You know he can do worse. He’s threatened worse, but what is he going to do? “It seems you need a little more...motivation.”
You try to wiggle out of his grasp in panic, wrists bleeding again from tugging at the zip ties. They’re coated in your blood, your leg throbbing but you don’t care. You need to get away, get free. “No, no-”
You let out a scream.
It’s sharp and piercing, but nowhere near the sharp pain in your neck. It fires through your very nerve endings, making you aware of the very cells in your body. It shoots up into your brain, igniting every neuron in your brain. Your very blood feels like it’s boiling, your skin on fire from the pain. Every inhale feels like you’re breathing in sand, and every exhale is like glass shards dragging through your lungs and up your throat. The tears streaming down your face may as well be slicing through layers of skin, every wound pulsing and throbbing with a new kind of angry vengeance.
You’re sobbing, nearly choking on air as the pain continues to pulse in your body. It’s too much, every sensation inside and outside of your body meshing together in an agonizing harmony.
“Shhh.” Phil tries to shush you as he bends down, his cheek resting against the side of your head. “I know, I know. You’ll be alright.” He presses a kiss to the side of your head before letting you go limp in the chair.
Your scream still hangs in the air even after the video ends.
It’s otherwise silent in the room, all eight of them feeling the weight of their decisions on their shoulders. The scents in the air are full of pain and regret and guilt and anger.
“Was that fatal?” Kate asks, breaking the tense silence.
“No.” Christine chokes out, her voice shaky. Her hands are trembling where they’re tucked against her sides. Her arms are crossed over her chest, trying to bring herself some kind of comfort after what she had just watched. “He went for the scent gland. It’s not a fatal injury, unless you go too deep, but he knew what he was doing.” She swallows the lump in her throat. “It’s just incredibly painful.”
Her words hang in the air for a moment, all of them still trying to process what they had just seen.
John slams his hands on the table, all of them jumping. “I fucking told you.” He says, his voice laced with the deep growl of his alpha. “I fucking told you Kate, she should have been flown out here as soon as you made the call.”
“I know.” Kate says, undeterred by his anger. She’s seen it many times, though she’s rarely been on the receiving end of it. “I know, I made a bad call. None of us knew they would take it this far.”
“But we knew something was going on behind the scenes.” John says, still radiating anger. “All precautions should have been taken.”
“There was no guarantee her being here would have stopped them. She might not have been any safer here.” Kate says, trying to ease his anger, even though she knows it’s completely warranted. “This goes far deeper than we thought it did. Even before this plan was set into motion.” She waits a moment, letting the air settle. “A year ago, a convoy was smuggling missiles and other weapons into the Middle East in an off-the-books operation. The convoy was attacked and the missiles and arms were stolen by a Russian PMC group. The operation was conducted under the command of Shepherd, and the soldiers in the convoy were all Shadow Company.”
“That’s how Graves is tied into this.” Kyle says.
“It goes deeper than that.” Kate says, pulling up a file and displaying it on screen. “The missiles and weapons being smuggled weren’t being sent to aid allies in the Middle East. Shepherd sold them to AQ and the Russians. The PMC group that attacked Shadow Company was hired by Shepherd to make it look like an ambush.”
“Fucking weasel.” Simon growls.
“I don’t know how much Graves knows, or how much he helped hide the entire operation, but his ties to this go even deeper.” Kate says, and they all shift closer. “Graves has history with your omega.” She says, pulling up an old photo. “We combed through one of her brothers’ Facebook pages. Found an old photo of her dad with Graves. They served on the same base when her family lived in Texas before Graves left to join MARSOC. She would have still been a child at the time.”
They stare at the photo, Graves clearly identifiable as he stands next to another man, beers in their hands. There’s two other boys in the photo, young and grinning at the camera. Standing in front of Graves is a little girl, a happy grin on her face. They’re all in various combinations of red, white, and blue.
4th of July, they assume.
“That’s how she got into the institute so fast.” John says, staring at the photo. He’s never seen a photo of your father before. You must take after your mother. “Graves pulled the strings.”
Kate nods. “He did, but under the condition he would be the one to claim her when she grew old enough. The CIA wiped out that claim when they froze her file.”
The 141 all shift on their feet, sharing looks. John feels a sick twisting in his stomach at the implications. Your position in the photo suddenly makes sense. Anger burns in him, deep and bubbling like magma. He’ll kill the bastard.
“This is revenge then.” Johnny says.
“In a way, I think.” Kate says. “We took away what he wanted. Graves wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty.”
“This all is what the initiative was created for.” Christine says, leaning against the table. “A contingency in case this all was uncovered.”
“A way to control us.” Kyle says.
Kate nods. “Yes. It was all a plan to give the 141 a weakness, a way to be controlled should the situation arise. In this case it just so happened to be the uncovering of his traitorous arms deals.”
“We were all pawns in this.” Christine says.
“We let them walk right in and take control like that.” John says, turning to Christine. “You let them walk in and take our omega.”
She turns to face him, undeterred by his agitation and anger. “I did what I thought was right at the time. I got a call from one of the front desk workers in the med center saying that someone was waiting in my office for me.” She explains. “They wouldn’t say who it was, and the whole thing felt off. I knew whoever would be visiting me was not going to be friendly, so I felt it was safer to leave her in the barracks than take her with me and risk something happening in a place she doesn’t know well. In the barracks at least she’d know places to hide and barricade herself.”
She takes a deep breath, still facing down John fearlessly. He’s coiled tight like a spring, ready to jump at any moment should he deem it necessary. It’s those protective instincts, the knowledge that his omega is somewhere else, taken unwillingly and being tortured feeding into that need to fight.
“My office door was open when I got there.” She continues. “I always leave it locked. I went in prepared to fight, but I was attacked from behind. Hit over the head and drugged with something fast acting, something that would keep me incapacitated long enough for him to strike.” She stares up into his eyes, projecting her scent just a bit to try and get him to calm down. “We all made mistakes here, things we thought were the right choice at the time.”
She’s not wrong. They all know it. They had just seen proof of it.
“The assailant?” John asks, turning back to Kate.
“Corporal McKinney.” Kate says. “He was in Shepherd’s pocket from the start. Someone who could watch first-hand. Someone who could sneak into the barracks unnoticed without many questions. He was likely the one that put the cameras up.”
“Fucking wanker.” Simon growls. “He approached her once in the mess. Early on. Tried to introduce himself to her. Backed off as soon as I intervened. Never tried again, at least that we know of.”
“She never mentioned him.” Christine says. “Or anyone else on base that might have tried to approach her.”
“Where is he now?” Kyle asks. They’re all angry, frustrated. How had they not seen this happening?
“Local police tracked his car to an abandoned airfield not far outside of Hereford.” Kate says. “He was dead inside. Police ruled it suicide.”
“I’m sure it was.” John says.
They all know it wasn’t.
“Shadow Company likely picked her up from there with orders to stage a suicide.” Kate says.
“One less loose string to worry about.” Simon says. “Covers their tracks in England.”
They all go quiet. How this had all happened right under their noses? They’re all guilty of falling for it, for being too trusting in a world they know they can’t be too careful in. Allies can turn on a dime and become enemies. Betrayals can be easily bought. Things can turn downhill within a blink of an eye. They’re supposed to be prepared for the worst, ready for every possibility.
They had written this off as a conspiracy, and now their omega is paying for it.
“We need a plan.” Farah says, breaking the silence.
“We can’t let Shepherd get away.” John says.
“We cannae just leave her.” Johnny argues against his alpha. It’s a brave thing, considering his alpha’s current mental state.
“I don’t know how much more she can take.” Simon backs his beta up, the desperation and pain on your face still visible in all of their minds.
“Let us go after Shepherd.” Alex says, offering up a solution. “He’s obviously watching for you to come after him.”
“We can move undetected.” Farah agrees. “He’s less likely to expect us. You need to focus on your omega. Shepherd will show himself again eventually.”
“Do we have a lead on their location?” Kyle asks, turning back to Kate.
She nods. “We do now. I sent a team out to try and track location through the videos and where they were being sent from.” She pulls a map up on screen. “We have a location.”
“Texas.” Alex says.
“He took her home.” Christine says.
“We have a plan then. We go after Graves, Farah and Alex start tracking Shepherd. Kate is eyes in the sky for us.” John says.
“She’s going to need medical attention as soon as possible.” Christine says. She looks at Kate. “Where is the nearest military base from their location?”
Kate types on her computer. “Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth.”
“Get me there and I’ll be waiting. She’s going to need someone she knows.” She says, looking at John. “She’s not going to just let anyone close to her after this. She may not even let you close.”
John stares down at her for a long moment. She stares back unflinchingly. She doesn’t get intimidated easily, not after years of dealing with institutes and alphas alike.
He lets out a breath, staring down at her for a long moment before he nods. “I trust you.”
“Short reunion this time.”
“I’m just glad I got to see your face again.” Christine says, looking up at Alex.
“Things are...complicated.” He says. “Maybe after all of this is over we can go and get some coffee. Talk about our lives...as much as we can.”
The corner of her mouth twitches up in a smile. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Alex pulls her into a hug, holding her tightly. “You’re doing good work, Chrissy.”
She shakes her head at the nickname, but she holds him just as tightly. “I’m trying to.”
Alex pulls away, squeezing her arms. “I’d say you are. You care a lot. To the point some might call it a character defect.”
She scoffs, slapping his chest playfully. “Not like you’re much better.” She glances at the car where Farah is waiting patiently. “I’m happy for you.”
“Oh, we’re....” Alex blushes to his ears. “We’re not...”
She gives him a look. “Mhm sure.” She looks up at him one more time. “Be safe.”
“As best I can.” He says. “Take care of yourself. Don’t be too hard on yourself either.”
“I try not to be.” She squeezes his hand before stepping away.
She watches the SUV drive off, stomach churning with nerves for both of them. Shepherd is dangerous, but Alex has fearlessly faced down danger since he was a kid. He’s always been brave and determined, loyal and unafraid to do what he thinks is right no matter what. She trusts him to take care of himself, she trusts Farah to help him, even if she only met the woman today.
She trusts them both to take care of each other. She trusts them both to help put an end to this.
**Content Warning: Blood, vomiting, 'mega forces herself into a panic attack**
Your body aches, muscles screaming. You can’t take much more. Your cheek throbs painfully, swollen to the point you almost can’t see out of your left eye. The pain burning from your neck makes the other pain in your body nearly irrelevant, nearly nonexistent. It’s like electricity, burning through your very cells. Every movement seems to make it flare, makes the electric shock jolt through you. The burning pain that follows makes you whimper, a pathetic choking sound squeaking out from your bruised throat.
The pain makes you nauseous, vomit staining the front of your shirt and pants. It’s mostly bile and the little food you’ve gotten since your kidnapping.
Nutrient bars, meant to keep you fed and nourished for a short period of time.
You may never be able to eat them again.
“Fuck.” Graves curses, staring at his phone. “They’ve backed off.” He steps up to you, looking down on your pathetic form. “Looks like your boys do care about you after all.”
Do they? Are they really coming for you, or have they simply given up chasing Shepherd because they lost all their leads. Will they come for you, or will they leave you here to rot? What will Graves do then? Try to take you as his own omega? Kill you out of anger?
Your stomach churns and you can feel the bile rising.
You vomit again, the warm liquid splashing into your lap. You can’t lean far enough anymore, not without the risk of not being able to pull yourself back up, not with the pain burning your every movement. You can’t even lift your head anymore, your body weak and battered and bruised. There’s blood everywhere, on you and on the floor. You can still taste it in your mouth, mixing with the sourness of bile.
Graves gives you a disgusted look before turning to the others in the room. “Duran, Lewis, keep watch. The rest of you come with me.”
He leaves the room for the first time in what you assume is days. For once the cocktail of scents begins to disperse, all but two of the alphas finally disappearing. Where they’re going or what they’re going to do, you don’t know. You can’t bring yourself to care either way. You just want to go home. You want to see your mother again, your brothers and sisters, even your father would be a welcome sight after this. You want your alpha, you want him to hold you, to take you in his arms, keep you safe.
He abandoned you. He left you to suffer like this.
Your breathing picks up as you sit there, chin to chest as you stare at your bloody shirt. The smells in the room are awful, the scents no longer there to block out the sour bile and metallic stench blood. Tears are streaming down your cheeks, pink tinted splatters dripping onto your pants. What are you going to do now? What are they going to do to you now? Will they keep you alive long enough for your pack to arrive then kill you in front of them? Will they torture them too, make them watch as the life slowly leaves your eyes in revenge for chasing after Shepherd?
A sob rips through your sore throat up out of your lips.
You just want to go home.
You just want to be free.
You can be.
Distress. The final defense. The last ditch effort omegas have to save themselves. Distress will lead to your omega taking over, and if nothing else, a quiet death you won’t even realize is happening. Your body will give out and you’ll be safely tucked into the back of your brain, comforted by your instincts. You won’t have to worry anymore. You won’t have to care.
If nothing else, the pain will be over.
I’m sorry.
You begin to breathe heavier, ignoring the pain in your body as you push yourself to hyperventilate. The alphas behind you might do something, might try to stop it. They could, but would they even know how? Would it even work if you got too far? They’re not your alpha. They can’t comfort you, bring you back from the edge without forcing you. Will they even bother?
You tilt your head to the side, putting pressure on your injured scent gland. You sob at the pain, the burning flowing straight into your very cells, making them scream. You push through it, your wrists twisting against the zip ties, digging them further into your already damaged wrists. The pain pushes you to a point of panic, your heart rate through the roof. You can feel it, the tightening of your muscles, your joints locking into place.
You’ve never done it purposefully before, but in this state, it’s not hard.
They left you. They’ve abandoned you. They’ve given up. It’s all your fault they left. They’re not coming for you. You’re not worth it.
The thoughts send you down the spiral, the edges of your vision starting to go dark. You’re floating away, hands and feet going numb as your wheezing, shallow breaths block the oxygen from getting to your brain. You’re sinking, your body floating as you begin to retreat into the back of your mind. The cage is open, your omega soothing you as you drift off, curling up in the back recesses of your mind.
You’re safe now. She whispers.
There’s no going back.
You’re going to get out.
Even if you have to do it yourself.
The last breath you remember taking is shaky, making you cough before your vision begins to fade to grey, then to black. You’re getting out of here no matter what. You’re going to go to sleep. If you fail, you’ll never know it. Your death will be quick and gentle and you’ll never know it happened until you’ve moved on to whatever is next.
You won’t remember any of this. That’s your only consolation.
Your vision fades to black as all memory and awareness leaves you. The last thing you remember is the snap of the zip ties around your wrists as they break.
“Graves has moved with some of his men to the western building. It’s likely the hostage is being held in the eastern building. Gaz and I will go after Graves. Ghost and Soap will try to secure the hostage.”
“Keller is on her way to NAS JRB as we speak. They’re on standby for medevac.”
“Stealth is our priority. They know we’re here, we risk losing the hostage. Quick and quiet, take them by surprise. The faster we do this, the sooner it will all be over.”
**Content Warning: blood and slight gore, someone gets shot offscreen, some gorey and explicit imagery towards the end**
He’s not unfamiliar with high stakes missions. It’s his specialty. He’s cool and calm under stress and pressure, which is why he gets chosen for them. He can detach easily, get the job done and then go home and forget.
So why are his hands shaking?
This isn’t a high stakes mission, not like one he’s used to doing. The stakes are higher, higher than he’s ever had before. It’s not just eliminating some faceless target, it’s not just rescuing some faceless hostage.
It’s rescuing you.
He hates that you were involved in all of this. He hates that they all fell for it, blind to the truth, blind to Shepherd’s traitorous actions. They refused to entertain those conspiratorial thoughts, and now you’re paying for it. He knows why Price made the decision he did, he understands the logic behind it.
He hated it, though.
How far would Graves have taken it if they had chosen to go after you first. Would things have gotten this bad? Or would he still have hurt you, tortured you just out of sheer anger for what happened between the two of you? He wouldn’t give up just because Shepherd told him to stop. He’s ruthless and uncaring of who he hurts and why. He gets his orders and he completes them, no matter what, so long as whoever is giving those orders can pay a high enough price.
How much did he get for this assignment? How much did he settle for once he learned you were involved?
Far too much despite that fact, most likely. Maybe he should become a merc. Less rules and more money.
It’s not a bad idea.
He lasers his focus on the building as they creep through the trees, moving silently. Two against however many are inside. It was impossible to tell with how many were moving between the two buildings constantly.
He brought the whole squad. He planned on putting up a fight regardless.
At least they have the element of surprise on their hands.
“We move silently through the building.” He says as they approach the door. There’s two guards standing outside. “They know we’re inside, things could go downhill quickly.”
“On you, LT.” Johnny says, taking point beside him.
“Drop one, I’ll take the other.” He says, aiming at one of the two Shadows guarding the door.
It’s quick and quiet, their bodies slumping onto the damp dirt. Simon scans the area before moving forward to the door. It’s unlocked, Johnny pushing it open slowly to check for a trip wire.
None.
Sloppy, or perhaps on purpose. They can’t be too careful. Shepherd will have let Graves know they’re not on his trail anymore. He’ll be expecting them.
They split up, combing the bottom floor of the building. He takes out two more Shadows, checking every room for a sign of their target, but they find none.
“Second floor.” He says, waiting at the base of the stairwell for Johnny to join him.
“You think she’s in here?” Johnny asks as they creep up the stairs, careful not to make too much noise.
“Well, we’ll find out.”
It’s far too unguarded to where they’re holding you. Graves will have assumed they’d split up. He must have moved most of his men to the western building to put up as much of a barricade as possible. He can picture Graves standing there, the smirk on his face as he holds a gun to your head. Will he take that risk, shoot you in front of them and give them nothing to live for? Or will he use a knife, letting you die a slow, painful death in front of them?
Or, maybe he moved them to the western building to make them think that’s where you are. Focus their attacks there so they leave you behind. He gets cornered, he send the word to kill you before any of them can get to you.
More red herrings.
He pauses before he reaches the top of the steps, taking out the shadow standing down the hallway. They split up again, looking through rooms at the top of the stairs, making their way down the hallway.
One of the doors is open, and he silently motions for Johnny. He counts down silently in his head before rounding the corner, rifle up as he scans the room. His stomach churns as he looks inside, taking a couple cautious steps forward. He’s seen a lot of things in his time, done a lot of things, but this is different.
“Screaming Jesus.” Johnny says, lowering his rifle as he steps in behind Simon.
There’s blood everywhere.
It’s coating the floors, leaving a sticky residue as it dries. It’s the room you were in. He recognizes it from the video, and the bright light in the corner is a dead giveaway. The chair in the middle of the room has been broken, the wood of the arms snapped off and splintered. There’s four bloody zip ties on the floor, along with several instruments on the floor including the ice pick.
He wants to shove that into Graves’ eye for what he did to you.
There’s two bodies on the floor, one of them dead in a pool of his own blood, the other choking as blood seeps onto the floor under him. He steps up to the shadow, putting his boot on his chest and pushing. The Shadow lets out a groan, coughing up blood.
“Where the fuck is she?” He growls, staring down at the quickly paling face.
“Fucking bitch went crazy.” He chokes out. “Went running.”
Simon steps back, pulling out his handgun and firing two bullets into the Shadow’s head.
“Price, we found the room.” He says into his comm. “The hostage isn’t here. A half-dead Shadow said she bolted.”
“LT.” Johnny says, motioning to the door, the only other exit from the room. There’s a bloody handprint on the door, one too small to be one of the Shadows’.
“I think she managed to get out.” He says, staring at the handprint. His stomach drops, his hand tightening around his rifle. He glances down at the bodies, throats cut and faces bloody. “I think her omega took over.”
“You and Soap go after her. She’ll do the one thing she knows to do, the one instinctual thing she can do if she has nothing to fight.” Price says. “We’ve got Graves cornered.”
Simon pushes the door open, cool air flowing into the stuffy room. There’s bloody shoe prints heading down the stairs. He can see the rapid turn on the concrete below before they head off towards the trees.
“I’ve got a trail.” He says.
“Go.” Price says. “Simon...you know what you have to do.”
He does.
He motions for Johnny to follow before hurrying down the stairs. The longer they delay, the further you’ll get. He doesn’t doubt some Shadows followed you if you made that much of a ruckus. The more time they waste, the more dangerous things get, and not just because they might lose you or the shadows might catch up.
He races towards the treeline, rifle in hand, but there’s no one else standing guard. Price and Gaz will have taken care of those in the other building, and those that were outside probably went after you.
He slows once they break the treeline, trying to catch any hint of your scent that might be left. His only hope is that you’ve left a trail. He’s a tracker, he knows what he’s doing. His senses are stronger, more in tune. He can find you. He can track you down. He has to.
The guilt is eating him alive. If something happens to you, he’ll never forgive himself. He’s right here, so close and yet so far. You’re running on borrowed time and there’s only so much of it left. Eventually you have to slow, eventually your body will start giving up. Will it be too late then? If a Shadow finds you when you can’t fight back...
“Dead Shadow ahead.” Johnny says, motioning to the slumped over body ahead of them. “We’re on the trail.”
“Let’s hope she left more markers on the way.” He says, kicking the Shadow, but the stab wound in his neck is all Simon needs to know. “Keep going straight.” He says, continuing on the path they’ve been following. He needs just a whiff, a hint of your scent. Something.
They come across another dead Shadow, this one off to the side of the path they had been following. He turns, making an adjustment before moving forward. Johnny keeps close, both of them watching for more Shadows, or for any glimpse of you. All they can hope is they’re on the right path.
He nearly sets off in a run as he hears a sound ahead. It’s a yowl, almost like a mountain lion. It sends a tingle down his back, his alpha blaring warning alarms. A threatened omega is a dangerous thing. Fierce and protective of themselves, capable of great feats and lethal if you get too close.
It’s you, no doubt.
Price had been right.
He has no choice.
He pushes forward, his steps quick as he makes his way through the bushes. He spots you near a boulder, trying to fight off a Shadow. He’s got the upper hand, using his size against you. You’re getting tired, your movements slowing. Simon aims with his rifle, a shot to the head dropping the Shadow. You drop into a crouch, surveying the trees. You’re covered in blood, a knife in your hand as your wild eyes search for them.
“Distract her.” He says to Johnny. “Make yourself as unthreatening as possible. I’ll go around and get her from behind.”
He doesn’t even wait for an acknowledgement before he’s moving, slipping around to the side of the boulder. Johnny steps into the clearing slowly, holding his hands up, talking to you quietly.
“Easy, kitten. Ye know who I am.” Johnny is careful not to get too close, his steps slow as he moves to the side, getting you to turn. “We’re just here to help ye. Get ye home and safe.”
You’re holding the knife up, brandishing it at Johnny. Simon isn’t sure if you’ve ever thrown a knife before, but he doesn’t put it past you to try in this state.
He hopes Johnny’s reflexes are fast enough.
He slips out from behind the boulder as you pause, wasting no time as he races up behind you and grabbing you before you can bolt or go for Johnny’s neck. You let out another yowl, struggling against him as he wraps an arm around your chest. Your teeth sink into his arm and he lets out a curse, but he doesn’t let go. He lets go, they won’t get another chance. It’ll be too late.
He doesn't want to do it. His mind flashes back to his father and mother, one of the few times his mother fought back. It hadn’t lasted long before her body went limp, practically a ragdoll in his father’s hold. Simon had grabbed Tommy and ran, barricading them in his room. They didn’t want to see what was going to happen next.
He doesn’t want that kind of control over you, he doesn’t want to put you through that trauma. The disorientation, the fear, the confusion. That must have been what it felt like after being sedated during your heat. You had been sick for days, crying in Johnny’s room. He had heard every sob, every attempt to soothe you.
He put you through that. He made you face that down despite the fear on your face as Johnny escorted you to the med center.
And now he has to do it again.
He has to this time. He has no choice. His only other option is to let you die. Price will never forgive him. Johnny won’t even look at him again. He’d betray them worse than you did, worse than Shepherd, worse than Graves.
You never really betrayed them in the first place, though.
You were afraid, untrusting of them, unsure because of your past. He had been foolish to blame you, foolish to think it was somehow your fault. You acted out of fear, out of terror. How you must have felt in those moments when that beta showed up, when you faced down Shepherd alone, when you returned to find your space invaded and those cameras all over your room. They weren’t there to protect you, they weren’t there to support you. They left you alone and you hid it from them because you didn’t know any better, because you were so afraid.
He’s a goddamn fucking prick he’s been.
Tears blur his vision as he tucks his free arm behind you, shifting your position just enough so he can get his hand around the back of your neck. You kick out with your legs, releasing his arm, your head tilting back in a last ditch, instinctual effort to protect yourself.
His eyes squeeze closed as you let out a yelp, his fingers digging into the back of your neck. It’s hard enough it will leave a bruise, but he has to be sure. It’s the only thing that might save you. It’s his only option, his only chance to keep you alive.
“There you go.” He says quietly into your ear. “Need you to relax for me.”
Your body goes limp in his hold, head resting back against his hand as he holds you there. Your muscles twitch as the tension leaves you, eyelids fluttering before they close. His arm stings where your teeth had sunk into his skin, hard enough to draw blood, but he doesn’t care.
“Keep resting.” He says, easing his hand from the back of your neck as he shifts you in his arms. “Gonna get you somewhere safe.”
You’re like a ragdoll in his arms as he lifts you up, cradling you against his chest. You’re warm, hair sticking to your forehead.
“Call it in.” He tells Johnny, his eyes still glued to your face. “We need that medevac now.”
“Price, we got her.” Johnny says into his comm. “We need medevac stat.”
You look so peaceful despite the blood soaking your body. Partially yours, partially the Shadows you killed in your escape. You look like a gruesome painting, a gorey depiction of an omega pushed too far. Something they’d put on display in a museum, a photo that would win prizes in celebration of such a natural state caught on camera. It would be circulated for decades, something talked about centuries from now.
A raw view of humanity’s inner beasts.
He can’t stand it, seeing you like this. They did this to you. They are the reason you’re like this. They made the bad call in the end, they put you through this. You won’t forgive them, not after everything. You went weeks without them, without a word and then this happened. Innocence tainted in the blood of the guilty. The bloodstained omega held in the arms of the blood-tainted alpha. He should be the one covered in their blood. He should be the one carrying the weight of torture and desperation on his shoulders.
The guardian dog covered in blood in the name of protecting his innocent sheep.
How he’s failed you. How they all failed you.
He pushes past the pain, past the grief, past the guilt and the horror of what they did to you, what they put you through.
They’ve got you back. You’re safe.
It’s over.
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