【 CHAPTER SIXTEEN 】

GRACE was gone. So easily had she been taken, bullets flying from the deck of the control station with all intents of killing. Their escape had been narrow to begin with for the three scientists and paraplegic marine, but war was on the horizon and soon many more would die. Ruth lamented that it had to be her mentor, a found family member. A mother she never truly had.

Grace was within Eywa now, as Mo'at had stated. Ruth lingered over the scientist's still body, her mentor's avatar still maintaining a steady rate of breathing as if simply sleeping. A body no longer with a link to a soul. She watched with tear-filled eyes as the quiet moments passed, the tiniest of hope they had wrong and that there would be a twitch, a sign of life beyond the body's natural state it had assumed.

It would remain breathing, catatonic, until one day it died.

Ruth's ears pinned against her skull as she fought to accept the reality that was settling over her, her eyes clenching shut. Tsu'tey's hand caressed gentle circles over her bare back as she gently squeezed Grace's small human hand one last time before gently placing it at her side. The two bodies remained head to head on the moss, still.

Ruth rose to her feet, her head spinning with an array of emotions. Looking at Tsu'tey, he offered her his embrace, his arms open and a very visible frown on his features. She sunk into him, his touch seemingly the only thing there to stabilize her. He rubbed his thumb over her arm in a soothing pattern as he held her. She couldn't figure out whether she needed to cry or scream.

Losing Grace so suddenly in such a cruel way brought up memories of the heart-wrenching day her grandfather had passed. Mere days before she was due to make her decision to ship to Pandora or ultimately concede to staying on Earth and working a different job, she was supposed to finalize the contract that would lock her into employment with the RDA for the foreseeable future. He'd passed due to natural causes, at least, but it had been the final nail in the coffin for Earth to no longer feel like home to Ruth. She made the decision before his body had been put into the incinerator, a folded American flag placed in her arms.

Pandora was her home. And Ruth Carson was ready to go to war to defend it.

"They will pay for this," She mumbled into the crook of his neck as her head lied against his shoulder. Her emotions numbed, only rage and retribution to take the place of the grief.

"The warrior I've always seen in you," he murmured soothingly. He looked down, the two parting just enough to look at each other. "Mighty and a fire for a soul. But tell me, ma Ruth, what will we do against the Sky People? The clan has been devastated. There is nothing for us to do but rebuild."

Indeed the clan had been devastated, many killed in the sequences of events that had occurred just the previous day. Even with the numbers they had before the fall of Hometree, whatever they may amassed from those that were left was not nearly enough to launch an effective assault against Hell's Gate. There would only be carnage.

"Jake said he had a plan. . ." Ruth began to tell him, but her words quickly fell short.

A deafening roar and terrified screams of the clan suddenly drew their attention to the edge of the enclave, where people stumbled over each other in a panic. Ruth pulled away from Tsu'tey instinctively, heart racing as she expected another tragedy to occur in the form of Quaritch sending a team after them in lieu of their escape. If they were even findable. She prayed to Eywa they were not.

The clan leader started forward, his instincts as a budding leader showing in his nervous reaction. He effortlessly placed himself between the threat and her, his left hand raised as if he could keep her from passing him.

Ruth's wide amber eyes soon narrowed as she tried to make out what was causing the commotion. The rising sun was eclipsed by a massive, flying figure descending into the enclave where people were reeling back, avoiding the giant wings of what had come to land.

A Great Leonoptryx, Toruk to the Na'vi, landed majestically at the edge of the rocky area like some mythic tale come true.

Oranges, yellows, reds, and black, with two giant crests of brilliant blue atop and below its head; if its size did not make it easily identifiable as Toruk, the colors would. The giant animal was hardly seen by either humans or Na'vi, a beast better left in stories of a quick escape or heroes from history's past.

Wings raised in a proud display as the beast roared mightily before lowering itself down, its hissing sigh audible even from the tree where Ruth stood. Straining her vision, she could barely see a figure slide from its back, landing on the ground next to it.

Some part of Ruth immediately knew it was Jake. His dumb ass had most definitely had a plan as he'd promised, a wild, incredibly dangerous, and stupid one at that.

A plan that might have just earned back the respect of the clan again, as well as its trust considering the weight of what he had accomplished.

Jake strode through the crowd of people as he left his giant mount, the people going from sudden fear to awestruck silence. The people touched him and murmured as he passed as if he were a god walking among men. In a way, he sort of was. Toruk Makto was a legend among the people of this moon, with a reverence that reverberated for generations.

"Toruk Makto?" Mo'at uttered the name at almost every syllable from where she stood near Grace, the Tsahik speechless as she gazed ahead.

"No fucking way," Norm uttered in disbelief somewhere behind Ruth.

Neytiri stepped down from where Ruth, Tsu'tey, and Mo'at stood near Grace, her gaze transfixed on her mate making his way toward her from the distance. Once they finally stood in front of one another, Jake offered a hand to her. A gesture for a truce. His eyes were pleading, a layer of desperation under the surface. The worry seemed to vanish as she eventually took his hand, her eyes not leaving his. The last they'd seen of each other, Jake had told Ruth, he was trying to console her as she wailed over her father's body, gripping his bow in her hand.

"I was scared Jake," she uttered softly as their hands wandered up each other's arms, until Jake was cupping her cheeks and gazing into her eyes with absolute love and admiration, despite all. "For my people."

Around them, the clan continued to watch. Amazement was still painted on their features.

"I messed up," he conceded, frowning. Behind them in the near distance, Toruk emitted a deep rumble, the sound more of a growl than anything. The people that still remained near him inched away from the beast, cautious. "I failed you. The clan. I was incredibly dishonest and a coward. And I will carry the weight for the rest of my days."

Neytiri must have found some shred of forgiveness in her, as the two leaned into one another, noses touching. The bond between mates was something even the scientists had never truly been able to understand. How deep it was.

"Grace was too weak," Ruth told him solemnly from where she stood behind Tsu'tey, earning Jake's attention as he and Neytiri pulled away. She moved forward to stand at his side. Pursing her lips, she sighed. "There wasn't enough time."

Jake showed his grief in his pinned back ears and furrowed brow, the common identifier of a distressed or angry Na'vi. He bit on his bottom lip as if to stifle the rage inside him.

The marine made his way toward Ruth and the two friends hugged each other tightly, almost like soldiers relieved to find each other safe and in one piece after a fire-fight. It appeared the hand holding as they remained bound while the tree fell had meant something: they were there for each other, no matter what storm may come.

The two friends pulled apart. Ruth looked off toward Toruk, gesturing. "So this was your way of proving yourself worthy of the clan again?"

Jake shrugged, none of the typical banter they shared in his movements of words. Grace still lay warm near them. The time for humor would come once they'd emptied Hell's Gate, one way or another. And healed their wounds, the ones they already bore and the ones that would soon come.

"I didn't see another way to do it. I figured I owed it to the clan to find a way or die trying." He sighed. "You said war was coming while we watched the tree fall. So let's get it done."

Ruth's heart skipped at Jake's words, his boldness and sudden readiness to fight back. It sparked something inside her, like a war cry as a battle commences. She glanced at Tsu'tey, who was standing wearily a few feet away.

"Ma Tsu'tey," she murmured, the Olo'eyktan attentive to her words. Saying his name in such a way made her want to smile, to relish in what they now were, what they could be, but she ignored the urge in favor of the more pressing matters at hand.

He wandered closer to stand at her side, but his ears pinned back at the growing proximity to Jake. He still didn't trust the marine. She couldn't blame him. Even if he were Toruk Makto now, much had happened in the last forty-eight hours.

"Olo'eyktan," Jake beseeched him respectfully, gaining Tsu'tey full attention.

The clan leader seemed to straighten at Ruth's side, standing taller. Ruth's hand instinctively clasped his forearm, as if to ensure him Jake was worth trusting. They shared a momentary look, his yellow eyes shadowed with weariness as he looked down at her. She squeezed his arm, nodding her head. He would need to trust her on this. Tsu'tey nodded, his permission for Jake to speak.

"My sins are many," Jake admitted to Tsu'tey, his words reflecting the heaviness in his heart. As if all he'd done wrong had been laid bare to be judged before Eywa. "But I have every intention of righting them. As much as I can, for however long it takes. And if you will allow it, I wish to speak. If you will translate."

Jake gestured to the people, who waited expectedly to learn what was going on. Ruth noticed Jake shoot a momentary glance toward Grace's still form where it lay behind her and Tsu'tey before his eyes adverted quickly. He had the constitution of a warrior seasoned in battle, used to seeing the tragedies of war. Acknowledging everything that had happened would need to be for a different time.

"Toruk Makto," Tsu'tey said, an arm offered out in a truce. "I will fly with you."

Ruth's shoulders seemingly slumped with relief. The war had yet to begin, but this battle was luckily behind them. Jake's insane plan seemed to have worked, if not for the gentle push from Ruth for Tsu'tey to trust him.

Jake and Tsu'tey clasped arms in truce before turning toward the waiting clan. Ruth remained a few paces back, Neytiri coming to stand at her side. The two momentarily embraced, saying how they were thankful each other was safe before focusing on listening to the two men speak.

"The Sky People have sent us a message," Jake said to the clan, his voice echoing off of the rocky cliffs of the enclave. Tsu'tey dutifully translated, his accented voice echoing the same. "That they can take whatever they want. And no one will stop them. But we will send them a message."

The clan began to perk at his speech, seemingly gearing up for what other inspiring words he had to say. Ruth was thankful Jake was at least good at these types of speeches.

"You ride out as fast as the wind can carry," Jake declared, his arm swiping left to right in emphasis. His tail lashed behind him, likely amping himself up for the words to come next. "We will tell the other clans to come. Tell them that Toruk Makto calls to them."

The people hooted, Jake's words striking a chord. Precisely as they needed, as the sheer numbers would change things for the impending fight. Ruth allowed a smirk to tug at the corner of her lips as she realized Jake's plan had been more fully fledged than she'd thought.

Stupid marine.

"Fly with me now. Brothers, sisters," Jake's fist rose, ears pinned back. Tsu'tey contributed the same energy as Jake, ushering a change in his tone. "And we will show the Sky People that this— this is our land!"

Ruth's heart soared with what she thought might be patriotism. If Pandora were a country and not an inhabited alien moon, it might fit better, but she raised an arm and shouted in support nonetheless.

As the clan continued on with their amped energy among themselves, Ruth, Jake, Tsu'tey, Neytiri, and Norm gathered together to formulate a plan. Jake and Neytiri would fly toward the direhorses clans of the open planes, the ikran people of the eastern seaboard while also meeting with others along the way. Anyone and everyone they could gather.

Tsu'tey and Ruth would travel further into the continent, into the other forested areas and the clans that dwelled in them. Acquire anyone and everyone they could. With each of them they would take some of the Omaticaya warriors, while also sending other contingents to reach the isolated clans further outside their reach.

Norm would be remaining back with the Omaticaya, gathering what RDA supplies and intel he could from surrounding areas while also keep in touch with Max back at Hell's Gate. They were going to need to gather any and all firepower in order to fight back at the humans with their own fire.

Graciously, Mo'at ensured that she would take care of Grace's bodies. Ruth thanked her deeply, as she knew the Tsahik would take the utmost care of the scientist. She would ensure her human body would be properly cared for and buried, while also protecting the avatar as it remained in its catatonic state.

Soon enough, as they gathered supplies for the long journey, they were off. Current plans were set in place, the clan readying themselves for the countless other Na'vi that would soon be there. Toruk was soon flying off in one direction, Neytiri and Jake on his back with a contingent of ikran following behind them.

Ruth and Tsu'tey rode together in the opposite direction of Jake and Neytiri, their ikran wingtip-to-wingtip. Other warriors followed after them as they made their way to the other clans with the proclamation from Toruk Makto: war was here, and all the people would be needed to fight it.