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Italics: (Na'vi language or Jake's inner thoughts or narration)
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The moment Jake's eyes snapped open and realized that he was back inside the pod, he sighed in disappointment and sullenness at the fact that he had his old body back, which meant that he was now with his old legs that he still couldn't move at all, as opposed to the Avatar body he just had the time of
his life in just a few minutes ago.

When the pod opened back up, Max was there to greet him. Jake still felt incredibly woozy and dazed, but the memories of his experience were still fresh in his mind. "Welcome back," Max said, verifying if Jake was stable after coming back to his human body. "You okay? You alright?" Max asked him, earning a nod in return from Jake as he sat up.

"Yeah, I'm okay" Jake replied, maneuvering his body to sit back down on his wheelchair and then moving his legs as well.

Later on that day, Jake was led to the hangar where most jets, aircraft, and helicopters were held, whether it was for storage or future departures. "I'm Trudy," A woman that was leading Jake through the hangar introduced herself to him. "I fly all the science sorties. And this here is my baby" Trudy explained, patting the window on the front of her helicopter.

Before continuing her conversation with Jake, Trudy powered off something on the helicopter and walked over to a soldier nearby. "Hold on a second," Trudy said to Jake, then she turned back to the soldier. "Hey, Wainfleet! Get it done! We bounce at zero-nine" She said to him, seeing as he was slacking off a bit.

Wainfleet, at the same time, was loading a gun onto the helicopter's door while Trudy climbed up on it to check if there was anything wrong. "Yeah, I'm on it Capitaine," Lyle said sarcastically, causing Trudy to roll her eyes at him for his attitude, but she paid no mind to Wainfleet and continued talking to Jake.

Hopping down from the helicopter, Trudy turned to Jake and resumed their conversation. "Vine strike's still loose," She started, turning back to set her eyes on the aircraft.

"You guys are packing some heavy gear, huh?" Jake said, following after Trudy in his wheelchair as she walked away to another part of the hangar. Before she could reply to him, Jake stopped as he saw a transporter almost crash into him.

"Watch it!" Trudy said to the man driving the cart, wanting no accidents to happen. She turned back to the ex-marine and said what she wanted to tell him in the first place. "Yeah, that's 'cause we're not the only thing flying around out there. Or the biggest. I'm gonna need you on a door gun. I'm a man short" Trudy explained to Jake.

"I thought you'd never ask" Jake joked and chuckled, earning a laugh from Trudy. Eventually, they both reached their destination and Trudy pointed to a gym across the hangar where the man he was supposed to speak to was laying down on a bench press.

"There's your man," Trudy gestured to Colonel Quaritch. "See you on the flight line, marine" Trudy finished, fist bumping Jake and then headed back towards her helicopter.

Jake wheeled himself over to where the Colonel was lifting weights in the built-in gymnasium in the hangar. "You wanted to see me, Colonel?" Jake asked, slowing down his wheelchair right in front of Quaritch.

Noticing his presence, the Colonel stopped what he was doing and paid attention to the man in front of him. "This low gravity will make you soft. You get soft," He paused for a second, placed the weights onto the bench press, and sat up to face Jake. "Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning. I pulled your record, Corporal. Venezuela, that was some mean bush. Nothing like this here, though. You got some heart, kid, showing up in this neighborhood" Quaritch finished speaking.

Jake simply shrugged and said; "Figured it was just another hellhole," He said, earning a chuckle from Quaritch. The Colonel stood up and continued speaking while walking around him and back toward the busy hangar. "I was the first recon myself. A few years ahead of you. Well, maybe more than a few. Three tours in Nigeria, not a scratch. I come out here? Day one" Quaritch paused, pointing to the three slashes on the side of his face.

"Think I felt like a shavetail, Louie? Oh, they could fix me up, if I rotated back. Yeah, and make me pretty again," He paused, climbing up onto an Ampsuit ready to be used and getting inside its cockpit. "But, you know what? I kinda like it. It reminds me every day of what's waiting out there beyond our fences. The Avatar Program is a bad joke. Bunch of limp-dick science majors. However, it does present an opportunity both timely and unique. Clear!" Quaritch said while ending his sentence as a command for nearby workers to power up his Ampsuit while looking at Jake who was listening intently to what he was saying.

While Quaritch was talking, Jake rolled himself onto a lifting platform and was raised to a level that he could be at the same height as the man in the Ampsuit. Quaritch powered up the suit, buckled in, and began moving with Jake's eyes following him so he doesn't miss a thing.

"A recon gyrene in an avatar body. That's a potent mix. Gives me the goosebumps" Quaritch admitted with a chuckle. "Such a Marine could provide the intel that I need, right on the ground. Right in these hostiles camp. Look, Sully. I want you to learn about these savages from the inside. I want you to gain their trust. I need to know how to force their cooperation or hammer them hard if they won't" He said to Jake, who already had a determined look on his face for this mission.

"Am I still with Augustine?" Jake asked, trying his best to show that he wasn't nervous or doubtful about what he was supposed to do. "On paper," Quaritch replied before continuing. "Yeah, you walk like one of her science pukes, you quack like one, but you report and answer to me. Can you do that for me, son?" Quaritch asked Jake, who nodded.

"Hell yeah, sir" Jake said with a smile, very sure of himself and determined to finish what was assigned to him no matter what. "Well, alright, then," The Colonel said, reciprocating his smile toward Jake. Quaritch then pressed a button and adjusted his gloved hands that were connected to the suit, then took a few practice punches before turning back to Jake.

"Son, I take care of my own. You get me what I need, I'll see to it that you get your legs back when you rotate home. Your real legs" Quaritch said, gesturing to Jake himself with his head.

Jake smiled at his words and at the deal that was presented to him. He wanted nothing more than to get a feeling in his legs again. "That sounds real good, sir" Jake nodded, and Quaritch took that as a sign to take his leave.

Back in the lab, Jake headed to the link room where he, Grace, and Norm would head into their first mission to the forests of Pandora. In no time, Jake was already laying down in his pod and ready for his consciousness to be transferred to his Avatar. Before it began, Grace walked over to his pod and leaned over him to say a few words.

"Just keep your mouth shut and let Norm do the talking" Grace warned, making Jake gulp slightly and let a smirk grace his face before the pod finally began to close. The red-headed scientist walked over to hers.

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Back at Hometree, Y/n was already getting antsy while sitting in a meeting with the clan's superiors. Her mother always wanted her there so she could get a glimpse of her future responsibilities as Tsahik, while also wanting her to get accustomed to that role altogether.

Her eyes were fluttering close every 2 minutes, and before she knew it, the meeting was over and she sprinted out of there, heading to pick up her bow and arrow. She had been wanting to go and explore all day, and now was the time, even if she wasn't allowed to leave Hometree at such a late time in the day.

Knowing that her mother would be looking for her son, she needed a cover-up. Looking for Tsu'Tey, she caught up to him and grabbed his arm. He tensed for a second, but then knowing it was her, he relax as he realized it was not a threat. Y/n smiled and turned to Tsu'Tey.

"Tsu'Tey, I need a big favor. I promise I'll make it up to you" Y/n pleaded, making Tsu'Tey raise his brow bone suspiciously at her words. Y/n Tsu'Tey were good friends, and even if they were not attracted to one another, they were expected to be betrothed to be the next Olo'eyktan and Tsahik of the tribe. Tsu'Tey cared for Y/n as a close friend and would protect her with his life as Sylwanin would've wanted, which is who Tsu'Tey was in love with before she died.

"What is it?" Tsu'Tey asked suspiciously, looking at Y/n who looked a little bit too excited for a simple favor. "I just want to go
out and hunt for a while. Today has been so boring and the forest has been calling to me. Please cover for me in front of my mother and Neytiri, it's all I'm asking for" Y/n pleaded.

Tsu'Tey sighed. He knew how much the girl loved to be outdoors, and her connection with the forest and Eywa has been growing more and more every day, so he couldn't deny her something so special. Y/n noticed his hesitance and groaned. "Please, Tsu'Tey. I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll give you half of my rations for tonight's dinner" She proposed desperately, wanting to have some freedom for once in her life.

He knows how much she wants this, so he couldn't say no now. He has done this favor for her before so it wouldn't hurt to help her this time around as well. "You can keep your rations. You can go, I'll cover for you" Tsu' Tey said. A huge smile graced Y/n's face and she enveloped him in a hug. Before she could run off out of excitement, he stopped her to say one more thing.

"But, I do have conditions. You need to come back here before sundown, or I'll tell Neytiri and go look for you with a search party. Understood?" Tsu'Tey said, making Y/n groan but nod at his words, feeling it was reasonable of him to ask that. If it got too late and I was in the forest alone, it would be better if I came back before that time.

"Fine, but thank you! Thank you!" Y/n grinned and took off running out of the tunnels of Hometree and down to the bottom, then towards the wilderness of the Pandoran jungle. She already had her bow and arrow with her so she was all ready to go. Tsu'Tey chuckled as she watched her go off on her own, and then walked away towards one of the main levels of the tree, which is where he was headed before he was stopped by Y/n.

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Back with the RDA crew, Grace, Norm, Lyle, Trudy, and Jake were now flying over the jungles of Pandora in Trudy's helicopter. They oversaw mountains, lakes, planes, forests, waterfalls, and everything that seems to be far from existent back on Earth. Jake was already in his Avatar form, as well as Norm and Grace. He was in charge of manning the door gun. Everyone on the aircraft marveled at the beauty of nature in front of them.

Getting closer to their destination, the helicopter flew by various humongous trees that the Na'vi used as a shelter, like Hometree, and also passed by rivers that were connected to one of the many vivid waterfalls in the forest.

While Trudy began to descend the aircraft, Jake whooped at the feeling of wind and water on his face. He was filled with adrenaline and they haven't started the recon mission yet. This was just the trip to get to the place they we're heading to.

Eventually, the crew reached their final landing area. Grace chose this spot hoping to go back and visit the abandoned school left behind, but still a space which so many sad memories and moments she can't bare to remember at times. There was no way the Na'vi come around here anymore, but a small part of her hoped that they would so she could see those familiar faces she missed so damn much.

In his Avatar form, Jake hopped off of the helicopter and raised his gun in self-protection in case any creature or threat showed up that would cause them harm, but he was also extremely paranoid at that moment.

Grace, Norm, and Lyle hopped off of the aircraft after Jake, and Trudy started to power it down. Grace ran over to the front of the helicopter and motioned to Trudy through the window. "Shut it down! We're gonna stay a while!" She said, and Trudy understood, shutting it off altogether.

Norm was getting ready to head out and Grace yelled to him over the helicopter whirs. "Norm! Your pack!" Grace reminded, and Norm nodded, heading over to grab it before he forgot completely and left it behind.

Grace then turned to Lyle to give him his instructions, quickly though, because Jake let his curiosity get the best of him so he started to leave into the forest by himself. "Stay with the ship. One idiot with a gun is more than enough" Grace said, and Lyle nodded.

As they started walking, Jake was in front while Grace and Norm walked behind him. Being his first time in this forest, Jake took a second to listen to everything around him. The buzzing of insects like bees, flies, or any other native species, and even yowling and screaming from animals in the distance.

A strange sound came from behind him and he turned around with his gun aimed up, only to find monkey-like creatures that stopped to look at Jake curiously before moving on with the rest of its group. It looked like it has skin like its own, but it looked very unfamiliar at the same time, and it had four arms instead of two like animals on Earth. Its eyes were orange, just like the markings and stripes all over. It also had gliders from its legs up to its arms.

"Prolemuris. They're not aggressive" Grace said, trying to get Jake to calm down. "Relax, Marine. You're making me nervous" She said, lowering the barrel of his gun.

Grace led the two men to the place she wanted to visit first before anything else. Her old Na'vi school. Being here brought back memories, but good and bad, but sometimes she just liked to come back here and reminisce about the good. Walking through the forest, a small
hut or house could be seen through the trees and Grace walked right towards it with Norm on her tail to investigate.

"So, how will they know we're here?" Norm asked, making Grace chuckle. "I'm sure they're watching us right now" She answered simply while Norm took time to look around and Jake continued to aim his arrow at anything that moved an inch.

Grace headed towards the entrance of the hut and the two men followed her inside. It was basically in ruins now from not being used for so long. New animals had found shelter here, as well as plants that grew in from outside.

"This was our school," Grace started, looking at the space around her filled with desks, chairs, a blackboard on the wall, and shelves with children's books that are brought from Earth. "Now, it's just storage," Grace said, not liking to remember what this place became years after.

Jake stepped around cautiously with his gun still in his hands. He stepped around books, building blocks with letters on them, all the while Grace continued to explain. "The kids were so bright," She said, looking at a few Dr. Seuss books that she remembered were her students' favorite author. "They were eager to learn. They picked up English faster than I could teach it" Grace sighed, putting back the book she found into its rightful place.

Jake walked around the classroom a bit more. Seeing old writings of lessons written in chalk on the blackboard. Grace continued her search and took a couple of the Ph monitors, soil probe, and the yellow case in the back with an old microscope that she was looking for.

Meanwhile, Jake inspected everything. He was walking and accidentally stepped on a Dr. Seuss book, which ironically, was his favorite as a kid. The Lorax. Norm then picked it up and handed it to Grace who smiled and said she loved that book, but the stingbats that came into the hut knocked them down.

While walking around, Jake looked up and saw a solar system mobile. He reached his arm up and moved it so that it would spin on its own. As Grace said, Jake saw a bunch of small winged creatures in the ceiling of the house that they were using as shelter, and they were quite a bit of them, but still not an alarming number. Jake backed himself up into the wall nervously, having never seen these creatures before.

In the meantime, Grace continued to tell Norm how she continues to hope that someday someone will come back to read them again. Obliviously, Jake backed himself up into the wall that had the gunshot holes that resulted in Y/n'a sister Sylwanin.

Grace continued to look at the shelves and sighed. "The Omaticaya...learned as much about us as they needed to," She said sullenly.

Jake eventually turned around and his eyes narrowed slightly at the wall to see if what he saw were indeed what he thought they were. Gunshot holes. There were at least 14 holes in the wall and Jake traced his fingers around them, then turned to Grace.

"What happened here?" Jake asked, genuinely curious about what could've happened. Grace turned around and saw what Jake was referring to. Her eyes furrowed slightly, her face paled just by looking at it.

"Are you gonna help us with this gear? We've got a lot to do" Grace said in annoyance, trying to divert him from the subject behind those bullet holes. Jake complied and helped with the search, leaving the thought of what happened in this school in the back of his mind for the meantime.

They left the school grounds and continued their trek through the forest. They came around hills and trees until Grace and Norm found the roots that had very important scientific evidence in store for them.

"Keep moving, Norm" Jake said, and Grace nodded, getting a bit ahead of the two men. "Keep up, guys!" She called out to them, walking ahead until she kneeled onto the roots to extract DNA

Using a syringe, Grace inserted the tip into the roots. "And here I go," She says, immediately starting to see a reaction on the tablet that is displayed all the information about the roots. "Scanning..." Norm muttered, looking at the tablet, then looked at the roots for comparison.

"Oh, wow. It's that fast?" Norm said, his eyes widening at the immediate reaction of the roots with the eco-safe chemical poured in from Grace's syringe she had moments ago. Graced laughed, then said; "Amazing, isn't it? So, that is signal transduction from this root to the root of the tree next to it. So, we should take a sample" Grace explained.

Norm suddenly scattered, looking through his bag and the kit he brought to his pack. "Okay, sample" He muttered, preparing to take samples of the discovery they made from just a simple tree root on the ground.

While this happened, there just happened to be a certain Na'vi with her bow and arrow. Y/n had been having the time of her life and feeling free and she jumped from one tree to another, her bow tightly held by her at the same time. She loved being out here and feeling the will of Eywa simply by her creations surrounding her and giving her comfort.

As she got closer to her favorite hunting spot, she stopped in her tracks on a branch to see Sky People disguised as Avatars investigating the forest. They seemed harmless, but you can never be too sure, so Y/n pulled out her bow and arrow, then she was about to shoot but saw Grace's Avatar kneeling on the ground and immediately her presence made so much sense. She was a scientist.

The Na'vi girl was so happy to see her again, even from a distance. The Omaticaya princess smiled to herself at the sight, and as much as she wanted to go and say hello, fraternizing with Sky People was strictly forbidden now. Y/n had been secretly coming back to the school by herself to reminisce about her school days, and sometimes she wished she could have that life back. She missed Grace and having her teach the young Na'vi important lessons in life.

Y/n lowered her bow and let herself relax. Even if she was investigating, as any scientist does, she was accompanied by two unfamiliar men to her whom she was still wary of. One of which she was intrigued by almost instantly, and she had no idea why. She saw how he was starting to wander off into the wilderness by himself, which confused Y/n as to why he would do that since, at first glance, he seemed inexperienced, especially in this environment. The Pandora wilderness was no joke, even to the Na'vi.

One thing Y/n noticed is that some of her hair started to glow brighter and more intensely, even in the daytime, when she got closer to the strange man wandering off rather than when she was closer to Grace, who she knows, unlike this strange man.

Y/n hopped from branch to branch, trying to keep up with this strange man. She held her bow and arrow close to her, not daring to let it slip from her grasp.

Meanwhile, Jake sighed to himself and walked through the paths of the trees, not knowing a Na'vi woman was looking at him from the trees suspiciously. He was bored out of his mind. Walking away from Grace and Norm, he got to a point where Jake was out of their sight.

"You know, it's probably electrical. Based on the speed of the reaction" Norm said, even if it's a simple hypothesis. Grace sighed and said; "Norm, you've contaminated the sample with your saliva," She said, writing down her findings and observations on paper. "Oh, right" Norm admitted with an embarrassed laugh.

Up in the trees, Y/n moved to another one close to the man below, but still high enough not to be seen and so that she was camouflaged. She now had a clear view of his face and got butterflies in her belly. She had never seen a Na'vi man like him, even if he was from the Sky People race. Y/n looked at him and admired the man from a distance, completely forgetting the reason why she was in the forest at all in the first place.

He had a different complexion and build from Na'vi men around her, and that intrigued her. If she had to say it out loud, he was very handsome and his facial expressions gave her a weird feeling in her stomach, along with goosebumps that ran down her body. Maybe that is why her hair has been so adamant and glowed when getting closer to him. Maybe it was a sign from Eywa that this man was special and different from the others around her. She would not get close until she knew she needed to make contact.

Coming around the corner, Jake spotted these huge spiraled plants or flowers, he couldn't quite tell. But they looked interesting to him. He got closer and touched one, making the flower recoil and shrink. He gasped and laughed at the reaction the plant had to a simple touch. He heard Grace in the distance, turning his head momentarily to check if they were still there. He turned back to the strange plants and touched them again, which caused the flower-like plants to recoil back again, making Jake laugh wholeheartedly.

Y/n chuckled at the sight. It was simply endearing to her how just a plant could get that type of reaction out of him. Unfortunately, neither Y/n nor Jake we're close enough to see the giant Hammerhead on the other side of the recoiling plants, so when all of the flowers closed as a domino reaction, the giant beast was in clear view and now both Jake and Y/n could see it.

The Na'vi up in the tree gasped and prayed to Eywa that this man had a common sense even if he didn't have experience in the Pandoran jungle. It was like a big rhinoceros that had a protective shell on its horns in the front. Going to check if there were more, Y/n realized that there was a large herd behind just that one. She turned back to the Avatar man and got up to the higher ground to be safe, but just high enough to see clearly.

Jake's anxiety and fear suddenly skyrocketed at the sight of the giant creature. Once it roared, it got the attention of Norm and Grace who came running to the scene and their eyes widened. Jake's immediate reaction was to raise its gun at it, making Y/n's heart rate go up while in the trees. She had a big connection to the forest since she was a baby, and no matter the fact that he was trying to protect himself and was scared, she couldn't let this man attack a creature who was probably just as scared as he was deep down.

Y/n gripped her bow tighter with stress and anxiousness, while watching everything go down, she positioned it in a way that an arrow was already notched onto the bow, in case she had to shoot immediately. Grace came closer and by instinct and your bond to her from knowing her for so long, you lowered my guard and relaxed. If she was with this man, she would tell him what to do the correct way and not out of fear like him.

The big creature stomped forward a few steps and Jake's heartbeats increased to the point he could hear it in his ears. Hearing the commotion, Grace and Norm came into the scene with worry and distress.

"Don't shoot. Don't shoot. You'll just piss him off" Grace instructed, making Y/n nod subconsciously at her words. Grace was telling Jake all of this through comlinks their necks while the two scientists stayed behind the safety of a tree nearby to be able to help him.

The hammerhead roared and out of anger, the creature knocked its head into the trunks of the trees on the sides of it. Jake gulped at this. "It's already pissed off," He said, his gun still pointed at the creature, not daring to put it away at all.

"Jake, that armor is too thick. Trust me" Grace said, trying to get him to understand that he cannot engage with an animal like that. Jake eventually moved the gun, so that the barrel faced upwards into the air. Even at this sign of trying to back off, the creature only raged on and thrashed its head onto even more trees as a territorial display.

"It's a territorial threat display, Jake," Grace said, not making any sudden movements. "Do not run, or he'll charge" She said sternly.

"So, what do I do? Dance with it?" Jake joked sarcastically, trying to make the best out of his nerves and alleviate his anxiety. Grace shook her head. "No, just...hold your ground," Grace told him, trying not to be too harsh.

The giant hammerhead did not back down and dragged his foot on the ground various times, with menacing growls leaving its mouth as the animal began to charge at the Avatar. Not wanting to be stomped to death, Jake took a shot and scrunched his face, then ran straight at the hammerhead with a yell and waved his arms around to confuse the hammerhead. Taking the bait, the animal took the hint and backed away with its head lowered to the ground. Jake saw this as an achievement and laughed victoriously, as well as being amused that his actions worked.

Once again, Y/n's stomach filled with butterflies at his laugh, and unfortunately, that sound was over before she even had another shot at listening to it again. This man was interesting, she thought to herself. He wasn't as much of a skxawng as she thought he was, but she still had yet to decide that verdict completely. Even if he was proud of his achievement, he wasn't the reason why the hammerhead backed away, but rather another much more menacing creature that he had yet to take notice of.

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Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Its a lot longer than the others, with arouns 5k words or so. If you want long chapters like these again, let me know!

If I'm being honest, I wanted this chapter to include them meeting for the first time too but as of now, its 5.3k words- Ill just move it to the next one where there is more room for conversation and its not all jammed into one chapter.

Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've added a few deleted scenes or uncut scenes from the original Avatar so I hope you guys enjoyed that part too! Im adding a bunch of those on here too later on :,)

Also, I feel like I should address the visuals for this book, especially the glowing hair and all. So i'll leave a few reference pictures here to give you guys an idea and how I imagine y/n's hair when I thought of it.

This is obviously up to interpretation but instead of her hair being brown like in the picture, her hair is dark, mostly black, just like the other Na'vi's, but when it glows white, some strands light up, not her hair entirely, and this is how Imagine it.

Keep in mind it only looks like this when it lights up, so her hair is dark most of the time.

You guys can imagine it differently but this is the image I had In my head for it, so there you go! As said in the story, sometimes its a dim light and sometimes its really bright, depending on the situation Y/n is in.

As for your outfits, I have rounded up a couple of them from OC pictures on Pinterest. All credit goes to the artists, these are not mine and they're just for references that you guys can imagine yourselves in.

If you guys have another preference, you guys can imagine it entirely from your own perspective and that's totally okay. These are just what I imagine Y/n wearing in the story.

Anyway, that's all for now but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Ive been super happy writing this story, so Im excited for all of you to see what I have in store.

See you all in the next one! Don't remember to vote and comment too!

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