Chapter Text
The forest floor pulsed with light under her feet, each plant connected in a silent, humming network she could feel but never quite decipher. It was a language she'd once been fluent in. A flicker of something unnatural—rusted metal against the vibrant green—drew her eye. An old trailer, half-swallowed by the forest, a relic from a life she'd lived a decade ago. Nature was patiently erasing the scars left by the sky people, but this one remained, a stubborn ghost.
She drew closer to the rusted metal suit, a skeleton slumped inside its cockpit. Two Na'vi arrows, fletching long since rotted away, were buried in its chest plate. Hesitantly, she wiped the grimy visor. The skull's hollow sockets seemed to glare, a silent testament to its final moments. Then she saw the deep gouges in the surrounding trees, the scorched earth, and the faint outline of a much larger, four-legged machine's footprint. The pieces clicked into place. This was the place of the final battle—where Jake and Neytiri had faced the Colonel.
This revelation gave her a frisson down her back. It was as though the hatred from all that time ago was still here, stuck and not willing to let go either.
Shaking off the bad sensation, she decided to venture closer to the old abandoned trailer. The air felt stale around it, as if this place was holding its breath, waiting to be stirred up again. One of the windows was shattered, leaving a big gaping hole in the front. Noticing this, she decided it would be her entry point and jumped inside, using her arms for support. As she quietly landed on her feet, she noticed all the vines and broken glass that had laid siege on the floor and to tops of most surfaces. She couldn’t help the memories from that time from coming back.
The smell of ozone and burnt metal still clung to the air, a ghost on the breeze. It scraped at her memory—the screams, the concussive blasts that shook the ground, the terror of being small and helpless. Maïka forced the air into her lungs, the breath catching on a knot of old fear. But she pushed it down. She had learned to walk past ghosts. She had to.
Her ruminations cut off mid-thought. The forest had gone wrong somehow—not quiet exactly, but emptied, the way a room feels after furniture has been moved. No insects. No distant bird calls. No rustling from the canopy above. Her body registered the change before her mind caught up, a wrongness she felt in her sternum rather than heard. Something was close. She held herself perfectly still and let her ears do the work. Twigs snapping under weight. Leaves pressed flat. Not one set of footsteps. Many.
The footsteps were too close to allow her to exit the trailer unseen, so this would have to do, she supposed. Not wanting to be seen, she decided to hide the lower cupboards inside the trailer, which were thankfully empty. Scavengers have certainly passed here, perhaps looking for food or supplies. She stayed in the cramped cupboard for what felt like ages, her back starting to hurt. She kept her breathing calm in order for her heartbeat to remain steady, to become one with the uncomfortable cupboard. The metal doors of the cupboard cut most of the sound so she wasn’t too sure what was happening outside. It might have been just a group coming by, except, from what she recalled, there shouldn’t be any RDA activity near here, and it couldn’t possibly have been Na’vi for they moved as the forest did. These beings moved against the forest.
Her hearing picked up on the murmur of voices as they crept closer, and she concentrated on trying to listen to what was being said. They were not speaking Na’vi. No. English? She hadn’t been expecting that. It took her a moment to place it.
The voices attached to the footsteps became louder and louder. Maïka held her breath as a female voice that was getting closer and closer yelled out: “Clear!”. A few seconds later, a loud screech reverberated inside the trailer as the door opened. The trailer swayed ever so slightly, trying to adjust to the sudden weight on its floor. Whoever these people were, they were used to being predators, not prey. The metal floor was not forgiving to the loud booted steps of its intruder as they were clearly looking around for something. Or perhaps, someone. The rustling and the creaking around Maïka confirmed it.These were not allies.
Once the door closed once more and the footsteps stopped, she decided to wait a few before peaking through the cupboard door. Seeing that the sight was clear, she quietly slithered out of her hiding place and crawled to the front facing wall of the trailer, near what used to be a window. Her bag, heavy on her back, was thankfully quiet. Even so, she adjusted the straps so that it was tight to her body and would not produce any unfortunate sounds. She listened to the voices outside chattering with each other. One, clearly giving orders.
Curious once more, she decided to peek. Hopefully, no one seemed to think to keep watch on the inside of the trailer, taking their female companion’s words to heart. She counted twelve of them. Big, blue and in sky people clothing. Avatars perhaps? She watched the tallest one, the commanding one, as he stood next to the metal suit and watched a video on a tablet.
The tablet in the leader’s hand played a recording of the suit pilot’s final moments. His face was grim, jaw tight as he watched the arrows strike home. He was studying the footage, analyzing it. His focus was absolute, and so was that of his team. This was her chance. Her gaze swept past them, probing the dense foliage for an escape route, and that’s when she saw it—not an escape, but a new complication.
As she carefully swept her surroundings with her eyes, she could barely make out something or someone that was not meant to be there. Or rather, someones. As she squinted she finally saw them: Four little faces hiding in the forest. Clearly the bigger blue beings did not notice them. These children should run while they still could.
What were they doing here? The children were far too close to this squad, whose military gear and heavy rifles broadcasted their hostility. Their camouflage was useless here; they moved with a coarseness that defied the forest's rhythm. Were they hunting for the resistance? Her last update had said the hidden clan was still secure, but this armed patrol, this deep into the old territories, suggested otherwise.
The older of the four kids touched his neck while speaking in a rushed manner, trying to communicate with someone, maybe their parents? After a few moments and what she assumed was a back and forth conversation, the kids left in a hurry, but so did some of the men. This was not good. She needed to help them. Quickly.
Needing to exit the trailer, she decided a distraction would be her ally here. Reaching at her side, she pulled out her hand bow, loaded it with one of the many pebbles she carried in her side pocket and aimed for the brush that was further from her. The ensuing rustle quickly put the militaristic group on high alert as they all shifted to see what was possibly coming near them. Even their leader’s head snapped in the direction of the sound.
Not wanting to waste time, she quickly and quietly jumped out of the broken window and ran to the obscured side of the trailer. Staying close to its side, she quickly looked around before ducking and sprinting towards the trees. She needed height in order to be effective in this situation. She’d be a greater ally from the higher branches. Climbing as quickly as possible she reached the optimal height in good time.
Quickly huffing a few breaths she soon started moving again. Leaping from branch to branch while trying to be quiet wasn’t as easy as she’d have liked. The burning in her arms from the exertion would have to wait for now. She stayed close to the trunk of the tree and squatted on the big branch she was on. From her vantage point, she could see the children being led back near the clearing. This wasn’t good. Maïka stayed in place as she tried to think of a plan. She couldn't bring down twelve clearly trained avatars, especially if they’re armed. Not when she had been traveling for weeks.
The leader began to threaten the older children, his voice a low growl. Maïka’s muscles tensed, her hand hovering over her hand bow, but there was no angle. Any move she made would get the children killed. All she could do was stay hidden, her eyes scanning for an opening, for the arrival of reinforcements. As she watched, she registered the details: the five-fingered hands of two of the Na’vi children, and more strangely, the human boy standing among them.
Having seen enough, Maïka crept a bit further and raised her hand bow once more. However, this time, she loaded it with a dart dipped in poison. As she exhaled and readied for her shot, she heard a name she had not heard in quite some time: Spider. She vaguely remembered him. He was a baby when she had left. Orphaned and left here to rot, much like she had been. Perplexed by this, she hesitated and lowered her weapon.
Luckily, it would seem as though she wasn’t the only one shocked by this discovery, seeing as the colonel, as he had heard him referred to as, motioned for his subordinate holding him to lower his weapon.
She hoped that the colonel would either try to take their captives with them or use them as bait. She was soon proven right on the former when he ordered for their extraction. They would not kill captives. At least she hoped so. This gave her new incentive to figure out a way to get the children away from them before more foes came.
Unsure of her next move, Maïka did what she did best: she observed, letting the rough bark bite into her soles as she analyzed the scene. The children were unarmed; the boys would have fought back by now otherwise. The three Na’vi shared a resemblance—siblings—but the human boy stood apart. Twelve avatars, all military, their grips too tight on their rifles, their stances too rigid. They were new to this world. Three of them held the children. To test her theory, she let out a low bird call, one native to the high wetlands, miles away. The soldiers didn’t react, but the eldest girl’s brow furrowed. Good. They didn’t know the forest’s language. She could use that.
Soon the sun went down and rain started pouring down. Low visibility would be a disadvantage for them, especially if they tried to hold on to all four kids.
She thought of ambushing one of the soldiers on the outskirts of their perimeter, but that wouldn’t lead to much. They were a thoroughly trained unit that would notice in a matter of seconds if one of them disappeared. Even if she managed to swipe a gun, it wouldn’t be of much use. It had been a long time since she held or shot one. She had no need for them while she was in a forest learning how to be a healer.
She had an odd feeling of foreboding flare in her chest. Now that she was back, she would likely need to learn to be a killer once more.
Although the rain created great cover, it also made staying on the tree slightly trickier. The branch she was perched on was starting to get slippery from the wet Moss. Deciding to make them a little more paranoid, she took a pebble that was in one of her side pockets and launched it across the clearing using her hand bow, where it hit a branch and made a loud snap go off near one of the soldiers. Many heads turned, following the sudden sound. Guns were hoisted higher and steps faltered. They were starting to get concerned. She could see it in the way they kept glancing at the tree line, at the shadows between the trunks, at anything that wasn’t each other. She could use their paranoia to her advantage. She kept moving, going from branch to branch, making small animal sounds and shooting at random objects nearby as she went. Keeping them distracted, keeping them on her toes, worried, would make them slip up and more likely to give her an opening.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed movement. Movement that she was not creating. It certainly wasn't an animal. Animals were good at hiding away from threats, not nearing them. This was clearly something else. This was a Na’vi. They walked very slowly, very purposefully towards one of the higher branches towards the clearing with a bow in hand. Maïka knew that stance. The way they held themselves was so distinct that she knew without a shadow of a doubt they were from the Omatikaya clan. Deciding to make her presence known, Maïka whooped, mimicking a Syaksyuk cry.
The warrior’s head snapped up in her direction, bow followed their action, poised to shoot. Needing to convey they were allies and quickly, Maïka threw up both her hands before nodding and pointing down towards the children. The warrior, thankfully, nodded back.
The warrior slipped back behind the tree, yipping a coded signal. The children below subtly shifted, readying themselves. From the ground below, a second warrior she hadn’t seen before edged closer with a gun slung on his shoulder and a hatchet in his hand, he swung his hatchet and one of the soldiers crumpled to the mossy floor. The first warrior hesitated, unable to get a clear shot at the one holding the human boy and the older girl. They were a team, and they were good. Even out of practice, she refused to be left out.
Following their lead, she loaded her hand bow with a poisoned dart and aimed for another soldier that would not be missed. As her dart struck true and the RDA dog slumped against a nearby tree before flopping down on the ground.
The older Na’vi girl prayed louder and louder, irritating her captor and making him reckless with his annoyance as he jostled her. His sudden movements made him a perfect target. He barely spat two words at her before his body hit the floor, an arrow protruding from between his eyes.
Chaos quickly ensued as yells sounded and gunfire lit up the dark forest, showing flashes of the warriors who had come to reclaim the children. Soon smoke joined the fray, making the children’s escape towards safety almost seamless. The warrior up in the tree and Maïka gave cover to them as they ran. She reloaded and shot off her bow in quick succession as did her companion while the other created a brawl.
Maïka quickly abandoned her position in the trees to join the male warrior in his fight and unsheathed her knives. Favoring the surprise she created, she didn’t hesitate as she cut down a soldier coming to the warrior’s left and ducking as another shot towards her general vicinity, blinded by the smoke. Staying close to the ground she sliced at her attacker's ankles as the warrior cut him down from above.
Seeing the children run, she decided to follow. As bullets went flying everywhere and gunfire lit up the dark forest, Maïka really started to doubt her decisions of coming back here. This was a chaos she hadn't known since she was a child. Sprinting after the kids and trying to provide covers was not an easy task, thankfully they knew not to run in a straight line.
She stopped her running and hid behind a tree, listening now that the gunfire had stopped. “That you, Mrs. Sully? I recognize your calling card.” the colonel called out, hidden somewhere in the forest. To her north-west, if she had to guess, the rain muffled the sounds of the forest, making the voice cut through the noise. Mrs. Sully must be Neytiri. Right? It had to be. The kids' ages made sense, if they were hers and Jake’s. “Why don’t you come on out Mrs. Sully? You and I, we got some unfinished business” the colonel taunted. Shit. That would mean that the colonel would be none other than Miles Quaritch. Fuck, they just had to bring the old psychopath back.
“Demon!” Neytiri’s clear voice rang out. “I will kill you as many times as I have to!” Maïka could see her from her vantage point, gearing up to take another shot. Deciding the older girl and Spider were far enough, she decided to venture closer to the fight. As she crept forward, she noticed one of the RDA soldiers wandering closer to her friend.
“I guess you and the Corporal have been pretty busy, haven’t you? Dropped yourself a whole litter of… half-breeds.” His drawl made her skin crawl like something had gotten under it. Maïka had never met the guy and she already hated him. Inching closer to the soldier, she raised her Outrider knife as he raised his gun. Maïka struck down swiftly as the soldier fired off his first shot, sending his shot wide as he collapsed. The sound of the soldier’s gun going off ended the temporary lull in their fight. As she lifted her knife once more, gun fire sounded close to her left and Jake and who she assumed was his son, came crashing in front of Maïka. Both scrambled to get up and started sprinting away, making Maïka follow suit and gin fire light up the night sky. The jarring sound of bullets pounding the trees and ground near her spurred them on.
“GO! GO! GO!” Jake commanded, guiding them behind a tree trunk. “You okay? You okay, Boy?” He asked frantically to his son, patting him and quickly looking him over. After a second or two, he seemed to notice Maïka with them. Confusion, recognition and confusion again flooded his face as bullets hit the tree they were hiding behind. Not wasting time as the bullets ate away from their cover, he wanked his son’s bow out of his hand and thrusted it into Maïka's. “Okay. With me. Ready? Ready?” He asked, looking both of them in the eyes. Affirmations left both Maïka and his son’s mouths as Jake leaned out and shot off his gun and Maïka followed with her borrowed bow. She had shot off two arrows by the time Jake ordered them to move and started pushing them deeper in the forest. They leaped over fallen tree trunks and roots as Jake and Maïka took turns firing off shots behind them as they ran. Leaves and branches kept whipping at her as they picked up speed and lessened their defensive strikes, creating distance between them and the RDA soldiers.
Soon, as the boy pushed away a giant leaf and slid down a bit, they ran into the others. Maïka worked on catching her breath as her throat felt on fire and put her hands to her knees in an effort to suck in more air into her burning lungs. She was distantly aware of an aircraft and all its ensuing sounds, wind and lights but couldn’t make herself care. She was solely concentrated on breathing.
The Sully family worriedly assessed each other and hugged each other as the aircraft left and darkness enveloped them. She would have found this touching if she wasn’t so busy counting how many breaths she owed herself. She needed to run more. This felt like dying or a special kind of torture. She snapped out of it when one of the kids mentioned Spider being taken. She unfurled herself but stayed quiet as Jake consoled his crying daughter. Maïka looked toward them and felt like intruding in an important moment for them. She slowly took stock of the children. She counted four: the two girls, and two Na’vi boys. That can’t be right. There was only one Na’vi boy. She could have sworn she only counted four kids including Spider. He must have been with Jake and Neytiri. He carried himself with the same fierce energy as Jake, and he was staring at the bow in her hands—his bow. Not knowing what to do, she ran a thumb over its string until the youngest loudly asked: “Mom? Who’s that?” Maïka’s head snapped in her direction, wanting to see who she was talking about and quickly noticed that the younger girl’s finger was pointed squarely at her.