Beta
[Pandora’s Reef]
“I’m so sorry,” Tsireya murmured behind her crashing tears as she continued to stroke Neteyam’s hair to keep the ash and soot from fouling him any further. “You were their older brother. You didn’t deserve to go like this,” she soothed as she turned her gaze to the burning skies before looking at Lo’ak’s broken form as he attempted to comfort Tuk.
“I need to go,” Lo’ak mused in a weakened tone. The more he stared at Neteyam, the more it dawned on him that it was his fault that Neteyam had died. He was the brother that should have died, and Neteyam was the brother that should have lived.
“But Dad said,” Tuk muffled behind her crashing tears.
“He’s right,” Lo’ak mused.
Haven’t you done enough?
“Oh Lo’ak,” Tsireya murmured as she realised that he was reminiscing his father’s last words to him. “He didn’t mean it,” she soothed.
“He did,” Lo’ak answered. “He did,” he reiterated as he cupped Tuk’s chin before moving closer to Neteyam. His hand was raised, but he found himself struggling to touch Neteyam. A wave of guilt coursed through his body as he let a feral growl loose.
“You know he’s not dead right?” a voice spoke from behind.
Immediately, Tsireya and Lo’ak turned and sneered in a hunched position as Tuk immediately flailed behind them. They had no weapons, but jagged rocks and debris would do fine as Tsireya and Lo’ak both filled their hands with rocks.
“Sky demon,” Lo’ak roared as he threw a rock towards the stranger.
The stranger sidestepped before staring down at the boy. “Oel ngati kameie,” the stranger said as he walked towards them with a slight bow.
“You know of our way?” Tsireya asked as she took a step forward.
“Tsireya, no,” Lo’ak commanded as he took a step forward. “What do you want sky demon? Haven’t you taken enough?” he roared as he threw a punch.
His left hand was immediately raised as he blocked Lo’ak’s punch before pivoting on the spot while tugging onto the punching arm across his body. At once, Lo’ak’s body was thrown over his shoulders. “My name is Loki,” the stranger said as he continued to apply pressure onto Lo’ak’s shoulder while pulling his arm back. “And I am no sky demon,” he seethed as he ignored Lo’ak’s attempt to get free.
“Let him go,” shouted Tuk as she appeared from Tsireya’s back.
“No Tuk,” Tsireya shouted.
“I don’t have time for this,” Loki said calmly as he let Lo’ak go. Immediately, Loki took a step back. He calculated, that Lo’ak would be impulsive and he couldn’t stop the way his lips curled upward when he was proved to be correct.
“Demon,” Lo’ak screamed.
“I can’t believe I have to say, I’m not a demon… a monster, yes... but a demon? To be called a human… how barbaric,” Loki mused as he waved his hand. The effect was instantaneous, as Tsireya, Tuk and Lo’ak were flown aside.
“Impossible,” Tsireya murmured hastily as she noticed that Loki was walking towards Neteyam.
“No,” Tuk screamed as she ran towards Neteyam.
“Tuk!” screamed Lo’ak as she struggled to get up from the floor for the second time in a matter of minutes.
“Stay,” Loki sneered as he crouched near Neteyam. Allowing himself to lean forward, he placed one hand on Neteyam’s forehead and the other was placed high above his head. “You can watch… but this unladylike behaviour needs to stop,” he continued darkly.
It had been a long time since he had last visited Pandora, but he still remembered the old rituals Eywa had taught him. “Eywa… oel ngati kameie,” he started as the seidr within him seeped into the conscious state. Immediately, his eyes glowed. A wave of dark forest green hummed at either hand.
He could hear Tsireya’s gasp but he ignored it. “Rutxe,” he commanded.
The skies were filled with fire, ash, and soot. Yet, when Tsireya and Lo’ak looked up, they could see a clearing shining right above them.
Where Tsireya and Lo’ak were looking at the shifting skies, Tuk’s eyes hadn’t moved. She wasn’t sure, but she could have sworn that Loki’s skin had turned blue for a split second and that his skin had sparkled like diamonds against the bursting sunlight.
“What is your brother’s name?” Loki asked Tuk.
“Ne…his name is Neteyam,” Tuk answered meekly.
Loki nodded as he turned to face the boy on the ground. “Neteyam,” he murmured. “It’s time for you to awaken,” he commanded.
Almost immediately, a gasp of air escaped Neteyam’s mouth before droplets of water were coughed out.
“Irayo, Eywa,” Loki noted as he lowered his raised hand. “Easy,” he continued in a coarse voice as he raised Neteyam. “Breathe,” he continued in a laced tone.
“How? Who?” Neteyam muttered as he instinctively grabbed the part of his chest where he was shot. Yet, when he looked down, he realised that there was no hole. “How?”
“Neteyam,” Lo’ak and Tuk screamed as they ran to their brother. Immediately, Neteyam went crashing down as a flurry of hands grabbed him into a hug.
“Guys,” Neteyam answered with a chuckle as his peering gaze never left the stranger. “You’re different… you’re… you’re no sky people.”
“Ahh… someone in the family has inherited brains. Amazing,” Loki mocked sadistically with a short but bemused smile. “But yes, I am not human,” he continued as he pointed to his mouth. “I have no mouth.”
“What are you?” Tsireya asked from behind.
“A god,” Loki answered as he stood back up.
“A god?” Tsireya questioned. “What was that… how did you bring him back from the dead?” she asked hastily.
“He wasn’t dead. Eywa hadn’t claimed him yet… his soul was intact, and his heart was beating… slowly, but it still beating,” Loki murmured. “Do not presume I can bring the dead back… nil impossible,” he continued as he faced Neteyam. “Transfer of energy from the surroundings helped you heal. You were lucky… if your family continued to be pestering rodents, I might have failed in saving you.”
“And what now?” Neteyam asked as he pushed past Lo’ak’s and Tuk’s grasp. “You have saved me… I am indebted to you… what do you want?” he asked.
Taken aback, Loki couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Child… I am a god, you have nothing I want. I am on a journey… blessed by Eywa herself. I saw… and I realised that I could help,” he soothed as he turned away to see a vessel in the open ocean that was slowly sinking.
Neteyam slowly nodded. It was weird, he wasn’t sure why but his mind and heart told him that he could trust Loki. “Thank you,” Neteyam answered with his hand raised. “It’s customary, amongst Na’vi and Sky people to shake hands,” he continued.
“Likewise,” Loki murmured. “It’s not every day I get proven wrong in seeing a diligent delinquent who’s actually got some brains and logic.”
The subtle jab didn’t go unnoticed by Lo’ak, but then he saw Loki’s gleaming gaze and he realised that it was just that, a simple but subtle jab with no real harm.
“So, what happens now?” Tsireya asked as she stepped forward. “You’ve saved Neteyam… so what happens now?” she continued grimly.
“I don’t know… whatever you want,” Loki answered with a shrug.
Loki, Eywa’s voice echoed loudly, that even Tuk, Tsireya, Lo’ak and Neteyam heard.
“Right,” Loki answered. Immediately, his hands were shrouded in a mist of green before he shimmered and vanished from sight.
-
Release or I cut.
Those were the words Neytiri muttered as she held onto Spider while slowly brandishing a knife against his weakened deprived skin.
At first, he prayed and hoped that it was a ploy, but then she cut him.
And in one moment his world had come crashing down.
Miles Quaritch had accepted the trade.
His eyes widened as Neytiri pushed him away. He couldn’t help but turn in wonder. He would never forget those jagged eyes that sparked such violence and hate.
“Spider,” Kiri murmured as Miles pushed her. “We’ll come get you. I promise,” she yearned as Neytiri grasped Kiri’s arm.
His smile was short. Filled with sadness as tears began to well on his eyelids. He did nothing but nod because he knew the truth. They would never come for him.
Because he was the spawn of the demon. The very thing the Na’vi were fighting against.
And at that moment, it made sense to him. He wasn’t family. He was a pest, an insect that was an acquaintance at most and that he would never find the love or care that he yearned for.
He was born in Pandora. He was raised by Na’vi. Yet, because he was the son of the man who had caused the Na’vi so much trouble, he was the bargaining tool to end the war, and in the end, there was one conclusion that he firmly believed in, that he belonged to no one.
“Hurry up boy,” Miles murmured with his hand out. “It’s time to leave.”
His voice was coarse, but Spider couldn’t help but be shaken. Miles might have not been his torturer but his associates were, and then there was the fact that he had witnessed Miles harming the Na’vi clans and that had greatly upset him.
In that moment, he knew that there was a choice. He could go back and continue to be a slave to the RDA, or he could simply cease to exist.
At least, that’s what he thought as he eyed the dagger that was wrapped around his side.
He wasn’t sure of the ins and outs, but one moment he was calm, and the next he was enraged. Miles wasn’t expecting it, and the more Spider thought about it, he wasn’t sure he had it in him.
The dagger felt light, and powerful as he continuously parried it into Miles’ body. Gooey blood shrouded his vision and skin, but he did not mind.
He would not stop till the man that was a remnant of his birth father was dead.
And then, the crying and screams ended.
“Spider,” Jake had said as he cautiously walked towards Spider.
Mystified, Spider couldn’t help but turn to Jake’s voice. His head was slanted, and his body was covered in blood from head to toe.
“Spider,” Kiri screamed as she pulled herself out of Neytiri’s arm. Immediately, she found herself at Spider’s side as she pulled him into a hug.
Yet, there was no response. Instead, it was brash and reactive as he pushed Kiri away.
“Leave,” Spider murmured as he sat down on the deck of the ship while staring at the dagger in his hand.
“Spider,” Jake had said as he approached him.
“I thought… killing him… would be enough for Neytiri to see me,” Spider yearned with a sarcastic smile as he eyed Mrs Sully. “No… she sees the demon that would kill its kin,” he continued as he crossed his legs.
Jake immediately turned his head to see Neytiri. Anger was evidently clear on his face as Neytiri shook her head.
“Leave,” Spider murmured as he began rocking himself back and forth.
“I can’t leave you here kid,” Jake murmured.
“Yet you did when they took me?” Spider responded with a bemused chuckle. “You did nothing while they tortured me… and you were just ready to see me traded off.”
“Tortured?” Jake asked in surprise. “They wouldn’t… no… Spider, please.”
Spider shook his head as he stood up and walked towards the edge of the ship. His gaze was cold and calculated as he walked past Neytiri and Kiri without batting an eyelid. “If it was anyone else… if it was any of your other children… would you have left them at the RDA?”
“Spider?” Jake started as he walked towards me.
“Answer the damn question,” Spider roared as he turned to face Jake. “Answer the damn question… or I’ll take this off,” Spider screamed as he held onto the back of the Exopack.
“Spider,” Kiri screamed as she attempted to run towards Spider, but immediately, Neytiri grabbed Kiri’s arm.
“Okay,” Jake answered as he fell onto his knees. “Please,” he started, “I…yeah… yeah… you’re right, but we can fix this. Come back with us.”
He shook his head and laughed. “I could never come back,” he murmured as he grabbed his wounded chest. “How could I… when it was Neytiri that drew first blood?” he cackled.
Neytiri couldn’t help but shudder at the way the Spider spoke. Till now, he had always referred to her as Mrs Sully. Yet, in a matter of minutes, he had called her by her name with such distaste and comfort. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt compelled to take a step forward with Kiri in tow.
His gaze shifted across the vast ocean as he unclasped the Exopack.
“Spider,” Kiri screamed.
He ignored her screams as he leaned forward to face the deepening ocean below him.
For the first time in such a long time, Spider found himself smiling as he fell into the ocean.
Taking, what he believed was his last breath, he knew that within seconds he would cease to exist.
And at that moment, he only had one emotion, regret.
Regret, that he wasn’t strong enough.
Regret, that he thought he was something more than a spawn of the demon.
And suddenly, the world had gone blank.
The last thing he remembers is hearing, “No you don’t,” from a voice he did not recognise.