Chapter Text
AMRAË HIT THE water hard. She barely had the time to suck in a breath before the bullets followed her in, some passing inches away from her skin. A shape cut itself from the deep, followed by familiar clicks. Amraë grabbed onto Säsì as she sped away, mentally thanking her from getting her out. She made her understand she hadn’t been far. They went around the ship, Amraë checking regularly behind her to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Of course not. It wasn’t her they wanted; she wasn’t Jake’s child, and the others were nothing but bait to get him to surrender.
Säsì emerged behind a large rock on the far end of the ship, which Amraë climbed smoothly, staying low not to draw attention. Shouts drew her gaze to the horizon. The wave of relief that washed over her at the sight of the dozens of tsurak and the ikran approaching was quickly dismissed: they couldn’t attack without risking Lo’ak, Tuk and Tsireya getting hurt. Neither Tonowari nor Jake would risk it. They needed a distraction.
Amraë watched as the humans spread out on the ship, guns at the ready, and in the distance, the Metkayina slowly halted to a stop. From her hiding spot, she could barely see Quarrich and her friends, reduced to spots; she however clearly made out the gun Quarrich pointed on Lo’ak’s head. Her stomach tightened. Negotiations, then.
Something moved behind Amraë; knives materialized in her hands as she spun around. She almost collapsed with relief when Neteyam emerged, jumping on the rock beside her.
“By the Great Mother, finally! Are you okay?” She inspected him for any signs of injuries.
“Yes. I was looking for another way onto the ship.” He scanned the surroundings, the line of warriors still stopped and then the ship. His hand came absently stroking Amraë’s back. “What happened? Where are the others?”
“Lo’ak, Tuk and Tsireya have been captured.” She explained quickly. “I tried to help them, but I had to jump off the ship, they were going to shoot me — I am of no value to them. As for Kiri, Roxto and Ao’nung, they must still be in the water somewhere. We lost them in the algae forest.” A lone figure etached itself from the rest of the warriors as she added: “It looks like Quarrich is negotiating for Jake’s surrender.”
“Okay. Okay,” Neteyam repeated, eyes lost in the distance as he registered the information. “We have to free my siblings and Tsireya.”
“We have to wait.” Amraë countered. “There’s no way we’re getting on that ship without behind seen.”
Below them, the rock seemed to shudder. Amraë tightened her grip. “What was that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Look!” Amraë pointed ahead as a tulkun dove out the water, crashing itself on the ship. There was only one tulkun who would voluntarily attack the Sky People that way. Payakan.
“Payakan! He’s protecting Lo’ak!”
“There’s our distraction!” Neteyam jumped off the rock directly on his ilu. “Come on!”
Amraë followed him, both dashing around the ship. Above, the scenery was chaos, between Payakan’s wailing, the shouts of the humans helplessly trying to fight back and the machines falling into the water. In the horizon, the Metkayina army had seized the chance, their war cries making their way to Amraë’s hearing.
Behind her and Neteyam, Payakan dove back into the water, aiming for another smaller ship. Bullets ricocheted into the water as Amraë followed Neteyam to the front, the silhouettes of several ikran taking off leaving the prisoners unguarded.
“Watch out!” Neteyam screamed just as they resurfaced.
Amraë barely had the time to look up before the flying machine opened fire in their direction. She dove again, slaloming between the bullets; soon enough, the machine crashed on a rock behind them, an arrow embedded in the pilot’s chest. Irayo, Neytiri. Neteyam turned and pointed up. Now was their chance. As they reached for the surface again, the ship started to move forward, forcing them away not to be crushed. Amraë looped to the side and hurried Säsì after it as it aimed for nearby rocks. Somebody must have taken over the controls. She exchanged a look with Neteyam; both resurfaced, in time to witness the ship fly over the rocks and land again brutally, half of it on fire.
“Go, go, go!” She shouted at Neteyam, diving again as the ship glided to the side. They reached the back and swam around, Amraë picking up distant alarms. Neteyam dove up first, and Säsì soon followed; she jumped off high, Amraë using the momentum to propel herself on the ship.
“Neteyam! Amraë!” Tuk exclaimed at their arrival.
Amraë snatched a knife, nearing Tsireya as Neteyam reached Tuk.
“Hey, baby brother.” Neteyam smiled at Lo’ak as Amraë easily sliced through Tsireya’s bonds, Neteyam doing the same for Tuk’s. “Need some help?”
“Just shut up and get us loose.” Lo’ak retorted, although his smile was indication enough that he was glad to see them.
“Get Tuk out of here.” Neteyam instructed Tsireya once the two girls were free. “Go with them.” He added in direction of Amraë, who opened her mouth, ready to argue. “It’s okay.” Neteyam cut her off with a hand on her arm, before nearing Lo’ak. “Go, we’re right behind you.”
Amraë grunted. After one last look back, she dived after Tsireya and Tuk.
“Look!” The latter exclaimed as Amraë resurfaced. She followed Tuk’s pointed finger to an ikran carrying a very angry Kiri to the ship. “We’ve got to go back for her!”
Amraë exchanged a look with Tsireya as the young Na’vi went back in direction of the Demon ship. “Tuk, wait! It is not safe.”
“Sullys stick together.” Tuk affirmed as an answer before diving, leaving no other choice but to follow her.
Amraë turned around, realizing that Neteyam and Lo’ak still had not jumped. She groaned in annoyance and dived after the girls.
“Tuk, wait.” She laid a hand on her shoulder as they resurfaced at the back of the ship. “I will take the lead. Stay behind me.”
“This is not a good idea.” Tsireya murmured behind them.
“Lo’ak and Neteyam are still on the ship too.” Amraë replied, twirling a knife between her fingers. “We can’t leave them. Just stay close to me.”
They sneaked behind crates, Amraë watching in all directions for any sign of an incoming threat. She spotted Kiri, cuffed to the railing at the center of the ship.
“Kiri!” Tuk exclaimed, sneaking past Amraë despite her attempt at drawing her back. Tsireya jumped on the other side of the railing, foraging for her knife.
“Quick!” Kiri said, pulling on her bonds. “Cut it here.”
A shadow masked the sun behind them. Amraë reacted on instinct, pulling Tuk away by the arm. The girl fell back, Quarrich’s hand meeting nothing but air. “No!” Tsireya screamed, reaching for Kiri again; Quarrich seized her arm, throwing her back into the water.
“Tuk, stay down!” Amraë articulated, reaffirming her grip on her knife.
“You again.” Quarrich said, reaching for his own knife — much bigger than Amraë’s throwing ones. “I should have gone down in the forest to finish the job after taking care of your sister.”
Amraë saw red. She hissed, thrusting herself forward to lure him away from Kiri. Her knife missed his left tendon by a millimeter, his own weapon grazing Amraë’s head. She propelled herself on one hand, knife flying as she somersaulted back. The knife sank into Quarrich’s thigh, who roared in pain, the sound like music in Amraë hears. His hand wrapped around the weapon as he ripped it out, sending it clatter on the ground. Behind her, Tuk screamed, and Amraë made the mistake of glancing back. Another avatar had seized her; a flash drew her attention forward. In a desperate, instinctive move, she jumped back, the knife cutting the flesh of her left arm open, before a foot send her flying above the railing.
The water hit her back like a rock, tinted in red around her.
Tsireya swam to her on her ilu and held out a hand. Amraë climbed behind as they headed for the south of the ship, and found a small pocket of air between two platforms. The ship was slowly sinking, the bays already half under the water. Amraë hung onto a metal pole as Tsireya foraged with a band around her wrist and wrapped it around Amraë’s wound, making her wince in pain. “For now, this will do.” Tsireya said, gently tightening the knot. “Come. We can still find Neteyam and Lo’ak.”
As they dived again on Tsireya’s ilu, Amraë made out distant shooting. “Do you hear that?” She signed to Tsireya, who nodded.
“It’s coming from over there. Come on!”
Amraë spotted three forms in the water as they left the inside of the ship, one visibly smaller than the others. Neteyam and Lo’ak and found Spider.
“Get on!” Tsireya said as they resurfaced, Amraë clicking for Säsì.
As she left Tsireya’s ilu to mount on her own, Lo’ak hurrying Spider forward, Amraë noticed Neteyam had trouble swimming, and could barely keep his head above the water.
“Bro, come on!” Lo’ak addressed him with impatience as Amraë got off Säsì to help him, feeling strangely apprehensive.
“You skxawng.” Neteyam articulated, coughing out water. “I’m shot.”
That’s when Amraë noticed that the water around his torso was red. Her heart stopped. “No, no, no!”
She dived, sliding her hand under his arm to prevent him from sinking. “Help me!” She shouted to the others, unable to maintain him afloat all by herself. Lo’ak came to the other side, Säsì positioning herself in front of them with anxious clicks. “Get him on!” Lo’ak said as he and Amraë hoisted him onto Säsì.
“Holy shit…” Spider let out before a wound Amraë could not see. A wound she did not want to see.
“Hold him up!” She snapped, mounting before him as hands braced him back. Her whole body was shaking as she grabbed onto Säsì’s saddle, Spider climbed behind as she held Neteyam’s arm against her chest. ‘Go, go!” Tsireya said, climbing on her own ilu with Lo’ak.
“It’s okay, I got you.” Amraë said as Säsì glided forward. Neteyam didn’t react, his head slumping against her shoulder.
Säsì led them to an island away from the sinking ship; as they neared, a form jumped on the other side. “Jake!” Amraë screamed, his attention snapping to them.
“Dad!” Lo’ak called too. “Help, it’s Neteyam!”
Tsireya dismounted, climbing on the rock first. “Hurry!”
“Oh no.” Jake hurried to them, pulling Spider out of the water. Lo’ak’s voice was trembling now. “It’s Neteyam, he’s hurt! Help, please.”
Amraë dismounted, carefully holding Neteyam’s head as Spider and Lo’ak came to brace him on either side. He was coughing now, badly. Not a good sign. A voice murmured in her head, which she silenced. Her every move was mechanic, practical. She could not allow herself to think right now. There was no time. They carried him onto the rock, his breathing becoming more and more laborious by the second. Amraë would have rather stopped breathing all together than keeping her breath as shaky as it was. She hauled herself next to him, turning him around to check his back.
Her voice came out strangled by a tiny flame of hope. “Okay. No exit wound. That’s good, right?”
She glanced at Jake, who nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s good.”
The bullet had hit him right below his right pectoral. It might have touched an organ, or not; Amraë was no Tsahik, but she knew from experience that he was losing blood. Too much blood.
She first thought her vision was getting darker, only to realize eclipse had fallen, tinting everything in dooming light. “Put pressure here!” She only realized how dry her tone had been when Lo’ak jumped to attention, complying nonetheless.
“We need to bandage it.” She said, the words stumbling out of her mouth, unsure if anyone was listening.
“Amraë…” Neteyam said, voice hoarse.
“I’m here. I’m right here.” She said, fighting the tears threatening to fall out.
“I want to go home.” He articulated, eyes darting on every side like a trapped animal.
“I know, it’s okay.” Her voice trembled horribly, a tear rolling on her cheek. “We’re going back home.”
Someone nudged Amraë. Spider handed a large piece of teared red cloth. She didn’t know nor care where he found it; again, urgency coursed through her.
“Okay, Amraë, go on the other side.” Jake instructed her, unfolding the cloth between his hands. “Lo’ak, keep applying pressure.”
As Amraë moved to the left, she spotted an ikan landing. Neytiri rushed over, traits deformed by a mix of incomprehension and horror. “No, no, no. Neteyam!”
“Spider, Tsireya, take the shoulders.” Jake was calm, the calmness of someone who had faced many situations like this one. The calm of someone who knew he could not afford to listen to his emotions. He slid the bandage underneath Neteyam’s back, him groaning in pain. Amraë seized it and folded it around his torso before handing it back to Jake. He knotted and tightened it with quick and precise gestures. Suddenly, Jake froze. Amraë cast her eyes back on Neteyam’s chest, still rising and falling, although with more and more difficulty.
“Where are your sisters?” Jake asked Lo’ak after a minute, who stayed quiet. “Your sisters, where are they? Where are they?”
“They’re on the ship.” Tsireya answered in his stead. “They’re tied up on the ship.”
Amraë did not hear what came next. Because Neteyam had gone still. Much too still. Terror, terror like she had never experienced paralyzed every single muscle in her body. She could not move, not talk, not even breathe. The only person she could still hear was Neytiri as she shook her son, again and again, calling out his name. His eyes remained closed. As Neytiri wailed, something in Amraë broke. A hand came to surround her heart, squeezing it until Amraë collapsed, both hands on her chest. Someone screamed. It might have been her. Her vision was blurry, her cheeks wet. She couldn’t think, could not even remember her own name. There was movement around her; someone talked, words she could not understand. She was back in the forest, back in that moment she had learned her entire family had perished, back when she had wanted to die. Now, she had truly lost everything.
There was movement beside her. Amraë looked up, hazard and numb. It took her some time to recognize Tsireya’s face behind the tears and in the dark. She was talking, and seemed to realize Amraë couldn’t hear her. She bent down and brought Amraë’s kuru from behind her shoulder, a finger pointing to Neteyam’s body. A single word passed through the wall of Amraë’s agony.
“Try.”
Yes. Amraë could not feel her fingers as she picked up Neteyam’s kuru, barely even shining, and connected them. At first, she felt nothing.
Then, Amraë found herself falling.
She opened her eyes to a blur of green and blue and the chanting of a waterfall. Amraë wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, blinking to adjust her eyes to the lightning. Her next breath remained stuck in her throat when the realization hit her. She was back in the forest. Her home. As she pushed herself up, something told her to follow the sound of the water, which she did. Amraë slid under trees and pushed leaves away until she could see the waterfall, the light catching it sending thousands of glittering rainbows all around. Her eyes followed the trail of the river, and she almost burst in tears again: on the bed of the river, Neteyam was here, bow in hand, studying the fish undulating in the current.
“Neteyam.”
Although her voice had been barely louder than a murmur, he turned his head towards her. A large smile split his face. “Amraë!”
She jumped down the rocks without caring for caution and threw her arms around his neck, holding him like a lifeboat. He was here. He was real. Neteyam chuckled in surprise, before wrapping his hands around her back. Fresh tears traveled along her cheeks, her sobs making Neteyam back up, forehead creased in anxiety.
“Are you okay? Why are you crying?”
“I—” Amraë’s voice broke as she smiled, hands coming to cup his cheeks. “I’m just really happy to see you.”
Neteyam planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m happy to see you too.” He observed her, his head slightly tilting to the side. “But how did you get here?”
Amraë looked around, from the leaves gently brisking in the breeze and the song of the water, clear as crystal. “This is the river you told me about, isn’t it? Your favorite place.”
Neteyam followed her gaze with an absent smile. “Yes.”
“I have come to bring you back.”
He looked at her again. “Bring me back where?”
Amraë picked her words carefully. “You know…you know this is not real, right?”
Neteyam’s smile faltered. He moved away, crouching near the river again. “I don’t think I can come back, Amraë.”
She crouched near him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, you can! You have to. Your family needs you.” She paused, biting her bottom lip to prevent new tears from falling out. “I— I need you.”
Neteyam let out a trembling breath. His voice was but a whisper. “But I’m scared.”
“I know.” Amraë murmured. “I am too. But we will always have each other, Neteyam.”
Eyes full of unshed tears met hers. “Do you promise?”
Amraë put her entire resolve into those two words. “I promise.”
She stood and offered him her hand. Neteyam hesitated, then slid his palm into hers, allowing Amraë to pull him up. As soon as she closed her fingers around his, everything melted into a white light.
For a moment, all she heard was the sound of her own breathing, raspy and irregular. Then, the pressure of hard rocks against her back. Her eyelids weighed tons as she tried to blink, to move. There were muffled voices around her. Someone was shouting. The pain woke slowly, starting in her head, then spreading out in her entire body, like a dull ache that paralyzed her in place. She focused on her eyes, forcing them open on a blue sky. She could have sworn it was black when she closed them, but couldn’t remember why, or what she was doing on the ground. Someone neared her.
“She’s awake!”
Amraë finally recognized Tsireya, and just like this, her memories returned. Neteyam. She opened her mouth to speak as Tsireya’s face became clearer, then froze. Tsireya was not crying. She did not look sad. She looked…happy.
“Neteyam.” She articulated with difficulty as more Na’vi came to her side.
Lo’ak and Tsireya helped her sit, the gesture making her head spin. Amraë almost fainted again. Neteyam was upright and sitting, Neytiri’s arms around him. Tuk, Kiri, Spider, Jake; everyone was here. It worked.
“Thank you, thank you, Great Mother!” Neytiri was sobbing, pulling her son even closer to her chest.
“What happened?” Amraë asked slowly, shaking her limbs to get rid of the numbness. She felt as though if she looked away from Neteyam, he would disappear.
A hand landed on her shoulder. It was Jake, eyes shining and voice raspy with emotion. “You saved him, Amraë. You saved him.”
At that, a burst of energy coursed through Amraë’s body; next thing she knew, she was up and near Neteyam, who welcomed her in his arms. She buried her head in his neck, pressing her eyelids shut, tears falling out nonetheless.
“Ngati kameie nìtang, Neteyam.” She whispered in his ear. I see you too.
At this instant, somewhere in the Great Mother’s conscience, Vahe smiled. “Light speed, little sister.”
THE END.