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Italics: (Na'vi language or Jake's inner thoughts or narration)
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In the main base of the operations room of the RDA, there was radio chatter filling the air amongst employees who were overseeing aircraft, helicopters, plane launches and departures, authorized machinery starters, and so on.

In the middle of the room, there was a big strategic hologram that displayed and showed in detail all, or most of, Pandora's forest, including the tree that the Omaticaya live in, known to them as 'Hometree', that being the RDA's main objective and focus at the moment for the mission.

Parker Selfridge stood there in a designated mini golf course that his team had set up for him. He spent most of his time on it, trying to practice his putting and gold skills even if he had a whole division to oversee.

Parker was now prepared to make his first shot, so he pushed the ball with his golf club and it rolled perfectly into the ceramic mug that he had placed, instead of there being an actual hole for the ball to fall in.

"Mhm! You see that?" Selfridge laughed in satisfaction at his win, heading over to the mug to pick up his ball. "Yes, sir!" One of his workers replied, but Parker paid no mind to it. "No, you didn't. You were looking at the monitor. I love this putter Ronnie!" Parker laughed, getting back into position to play the same hole once again.

Before he could do that, Grace came into the room and walked up to Selfridge, very displeased at that. "Parker," Grace started, getting the attention of the man, who was way too focused on his game to give her attention. "You know, I used to think that it was benign neglect, but now I see that you're intentionally screwing with me," Grace said, not amused or happy whatsoever about the situation.

"Grace, you know, I enjoy our little talks," Parker said, ignoring her words. He pushed the ball with his golf club, and just as it was about to reach the inside of the hole in the mug, Grace kicked the mug away with her foot and ruined his shot completely.

Parker looked up to face her with an annoyed expression, but she just shrugged. "Oops," Grace said sarcastically. "I need a researcher. Not some jarhead dropout" She said, trying to get her message through her superior.

"Well, actually, I thought we got pretty lucky with him," Parker said, heading over to fix the mug, not taking into account Grace's face of disbelief at his words.

"Lucky?" Grace scoffed, and Selfridge simply nodded. "How is this in any way lucky?" She asked, really wanting to see how Jake would be beneficial to their operation without any lab or Avatar training at all.

"Well, lucky your guy happened to have a twin brother, and lucky that brother wasn't some oral hygienist or something. A Marine that we can use" Parker said, leaving his gold club aside and heading over to the giant hologram table in the center of the room. "I'm assigning him to your team as security escort," He said.

"The last thing I need is another trigger-happy moron out there," Grace said, feeling her patience start to diminish with every second of talking to this man.

"Look, you're supposed to be winning the hearts and minds of the natives," Parker said as if it wasn't obvious to Grace already. He started to type and configure the hologram while he kept the conversation with the scientist. "Isn't that the whole point of your little puppet show? If you look like them and talk like them, then they'll start trusting us. We build them a school, and we teach them English, but after what? How many years? Relations with the indigenous are only getting worse" Parker ranted to Grace, who already knew all of that.

"Yeah, that tends to happen when you use machine guns on them," Grace said, in an as-a-matter-of-fact way. When she said those words, it still hurts to remember exactly what happened to one of the three sisters that was murdered brutally along with her students by the RDA, whom she loved so much, on that tragic and devastating day.

Taking another approach, he led Grace over to his office. "Come here" He gestured with his hand. When they reached his office, he grabbed a small levitating piece of a mineral that sat on his desk, showing it to Grace, who was already familiar with the metal.

"This is why we're here. Unobtanium. This little grey rock sells for about 20 million a kilo. That's the only reason. It's what pays for your whole party. It's what pays for your science in the first place. Comprendo? Now, those savages are threatening our entire operation, and we're on the brink of war, so you are supposed to find a diplomatic solution. Use what you enjoy got, and get me some results" Parker said, raising his eyebrows incredulously at the scientist.

Grace sighed and bit back her words. This man was the one who allowed her to make this mission happen in the first place, so there is no way she could fight him back on what he said. All of the progress they've made is the achievements that have prevented a war from breaking out between the Na'vi and humans. If she were to turn her back on the RDA, she wouldn't last a day without resources if she wants to do things her way.

The red-headed woman sighed in defeat and left the office with a million things she wanted to yell at Parker. Ever since she was banished from the Na'vi people, her prohibition from being present amongst the people there only made her more reluctant as to whether they would pull off the mission at all.

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The next day, bright and early, Norm and Jake's Avatars were released from their tanks and were moved over to another room so that the link between the two men and their Avatars can be done safely. Both humanoids were dressed in hospital gowns and unconscious at that moment, awaiting the link. Norm and Jake headed to the link room, ready for their first day on the job. Workers were now washing and cleaning the now empty tanks that the two Avatars were stored in previously.

Grace walked into the room with Jake and Norm behind them, asking them the necessary questions about the transfer before the link began. "How much link time have you logged?" Grace asked Norm, with Jake not far behind.

"Uh, about 520 hours or so" Norm replied, feeling pretty proud of himself. "That's good," Grace said, satisfied at his answer, knowing that was more than enough.

Reaching the pods, there were 2 opened up and ready to use. "You're in there. Yours is here" Grace pointed to both pods, with Norm going into the first one and Jake into the second. As Grace started to prepare his pod by typing codes and setting it up, the scientist asked her the same thing she did to Norm. "How much link time have you logged?" She asked

Jake shrugged and said; "Zip. But I read a manual" He said nonchalantly. Grace stopped what she was doing after hearing what he said and turned to face him with pure disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking," She asked, hoping we would be.

Jake paid no mind to Grace, given as he was too focused on the material of the pod. He sank and pressed his finger down onto the gel-like and cushioned material that the pod had to lie down on. "This is cool" He chuckled.

Both pods then began to power up, and Norm was already in his, excited about beginning the link process. "Let's go!" He said excitedly, getting comfortable in his pod and closing it himself.

On the other hand, Jake lifted himself onto the pod by using his arms solely. While his legs are still out, he got his upper body comfortable and prepared to lift his legs on it. Grace was about to step in and help but he stopped her.

"Don't. I got this" Jake said simply, and Grace understood what he meant, letting him do it himself. He held onto his legs and lifted his legs one by one onto the pod, meanwhile, Grace went back to monitoring how the link preparations were coming along.

Grace sighed while looking at the monitor. "So you just figured that you'd come out here, to the most hostile environment known to man, with no training of any kind whatsoever, and see how it went?" She asked, knowing he was listening. "What was going through your head?" She said, turning to face him.

"Maybe I was sick of doctors telling me what I couldn't do," Jake said, turning his head to face Grace. She raised an eyebrow at him at his response, questioning his attitude.

Across the room, many other scientists were checking the link procedure and checking that biometrics look okay and that the links are ready to go through completely.

While Jake was laying down, Grace was giving him a rundown about what to do. "Keep your arms in, hands in, and head down," Grace said, pushing his head onto the cushion where his head is supposed to be.

Jake, on the other hand, was too focused on the weird piece of metal that was placed on him. "Down" Grace repeated, pushing his head back down for the second time. "Just relax and let your mind go blank. That shouldn't be hard for you" Grace quipped before preparing to close the pod he was in.

Jake chuckled before saying; "Kiss the darkest part of my lily white-" Jake began to say, but the pod closed on him before he got to finish. Once he was inside, he was left all alone in the dark, kind of like the capsule he was in when he was in cryogenic sleep to get to Pandora.

Outside the pod, Grace told her crew to initiate the links, both Norm's and Jake's alike. They all began to run the sequences while clicking away at their screens. Both hologram x-rays of Jake and Norm's brains showed up on the screen, displaying their activity. Eventually, the links began to launch.

Inside his pod, Jake was looking around, and he wouldn't admit it out loud but he felt nervous. The only things we could see were lit up by the lights on the metal contraption that was put on him beforehand. His brain activity was shown outside, displaying that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

"I have the first congruency" One of the tech workers began to say. Meanwhile, Max was analyzing the holograms on his tablet that showed both Norm and Jake's brain activity as well as Grace, who looked over his shoulder.

Both Grace and Max headed over to the window that showed the two Avatars still in their gurneys and hospital gowns, waiting to be connected to their drivers.

"That's a gorgeous brain. Nice activity coming from it" Max said, impressed at what he saw.

"Hm. Go figure" Grace said, crossing her arms while looking at both the two Avatars and the tablet with the driver's brain activity.

"Phase lock 40%" One of the supervisors announced. While this happened, Jake was closing his eyes and letting his mind go blank just like Grace told him to do.

"Alright. I'm going in" Grace said, leaving Max by the window as she headed to her pod which was now being prepped as well.

"Phase lock 99%. Link is stable" The supervisor stated, seeing that everything was going smoothly and as it should be.

At last, Jake's mind and consciousness transferred and traveled through the pod and the links, and entered his new Avatar. When he started to wake up again, his vision was blurry and realized he wasn't in the pod anymore. He heard monitors beeping, and respirators hissing and running, and eventually, his view began to clear up and focus, then he saw two people, or rather scientists, standing above him to see if he was okay.

"Okay, he's in," The woman above him said, realizing Jake was able to hear them and started to open his eyes. "Jake, can you hear me? Jake?" The woman asked twice, trying to get any sort of response so that the procedure goes along with the protocol.

The other scientist raised a small pocket flashlight and passed it through his eyes to see how he replied to it. Once Jake's eyes gave a normal response to the light, they put it away.

"Pupillary reflex is good," The man said, then the woman snapped her fingers on both ears, then saw that both of them reacted properly. "Pinna response is normal. How are you feeling, Jake?" She asked calmly.

"Hey, guys," Jake said, still a little woozy, but he smiled nonetheless. "Welcome to your new body, Jake," The male doctor said while letting a chuckle escape. Wanting to see for himself, he lifted his hands, which are now blue and striped, and moved his fingers and wrists easily as if it was second nature already.

"That's good!" The female doctor said while the other one instructed Jake to take it easy and not make such drastic movements.

On the other side of the room, Norm was having his checkup. He was already familiar with his Avatar body so it became easier for him. "And touch your thumbs to your fingers," The doctor said, showing him what to do and Norm did it with ease. He was also sitting up, right next to Jake's bed. "Yeah, no problem" Norm responded, nodding as he did so, touching his index fingers to his thumbs. "Good, I can see you remember that one," The doctor said, chuckling softly.

Jake eventually decided to start sitting up, feeling more used to his new body with every second that passed. "Well, if you want to sit up, that's fine too" The female doctor reassured.

"Okay, just take it nice and slow, Jake," The other doctor said, and for the first time in years, Jake was able to feel his feet again. He began to move them easily as if he never lost feeling in his legs at all. It had been so long since he had been able to do this.

"Okay, well, no truncal ataxia, that's good," The male doctor said, seeing nothing wrong so far. Everything seemed to be in order while they inspected the two Avatars.

"Are you feeling lightheaded or dizzy at all?" The female doctor asked, but Jake was in his little world and focused on his feet so that he could move freely without pain or numbness. "Oh, you're wiggling your toes!" She congratulated him for being able to do it.

"Good, Jake. That's good. Distal motor control is good. Good, Jake" The male doctor said in approval at the progress he's making. Jake gasped in amazement at what he could do now, paying no mind to the doctors. "Are you feeling any numbness or pain?" The woman asked, starting to move his legs off the gurney and onto the floor, which is something he hasn't done in a while without moving his legs with his hands manually.

Jake has not answered any of the questions they've asked him, but rather has done everything on his own since he woke up in his new body. He is too happy to have his legs and feet back fully functioning. While feeling the cold tiles underneath his feet, only made the situation feel even more real to him. The doctors looked at each other, starting to feel worried and concerned that Jake wasn't answering them at all. 

"That's great, Jake. Hold on, now" The male doctor said, trying to tell him to slow down. "Woah, Woah, Woah" The female doctor tried to come around the table, worried about how soon Jake was starting to stand up when they didn't even know how stable his Avatar body is just yet. "Take it easy. Don't get ahead of yourself, okay? There are a few more sensory-motor reflex tests we need to run, so take it easy" The doctor warned.

Either way, Jake ignored his words and proceeded to stand to his feet all by himself, even if he was wobbling and stumbling over his own feet. "Wait! Jake!" The woman said. "Jake! Sit down! Jake, listen to me" The male doctor said, still trying to get through to him.

"Woah..." Max said while looking up from his tablet, from behind the window that looks into the medical room. The doctors were still trying to get him to sit down, but to no avail, Jake was still wandering by himself trying to get balance.

"It's okay" The female doctor was trying to calm him down because she assumed he was a bit disoriented and confused, but when Jake turned around, his tail swung around and knocked her right in the face.

"It's all good, I got this" Jake said, being very stubborn, trying to convince the doctors that he was fine and did not need to be checked anymore by them.

"Jake, you need to sit down right now!" The female doctor exclaimed a bit more sternly now with worry laced in her voice. She headed over to his front side instead of making the mistake of staying behind him where she got hit with his tail rather harshly.

"Let's get him back on the gurney now," Max said through the comlink that he was wearing, talking to the doctors inside. "Listen to me," The male doctor started, with distress in his voice. "For your safety, you need to sit down. You need to take time to adjust to the Avatar" He tried to instruct Jake, but no one was getting through to him. Jake, instead, turned around and his tail knocked over things and the cables on his body started to detach.

"Woah! Jake! God, Jake, watch your tail!" The male doctor told him, but Jake only laughed happily as he was finally getting used to his body. "Yeah!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Sedate him! Sedate him!" The doctor yelled out to his fellow doctor, asking for a thousand milligrams of Supitocam to be injected into Jake to calm him down.

"Guys!" Max called out through his communicator, seeing Jake dragging the cords that were still attached to him around the room while he walked around. "Guys! Woah! Woah! Jake!" Max said, trying to get his attention from behind the glass. Jake's hand landed on the window where Max was watching, eventually catching himself from falling from the lack of balance. "Jake, listen to me! You're not used to your Avatar body. This is dangerous" Max warned.

Jake grinned instead and laughed happily, rather than being concerned about what he was being told. "This is great," He said, smiling from ear to ear, not listening to the doctor's orders.

"Jake? Jake, please listen to me" Mad pleaded, afraid the Avatar might cause an accident. "Come on, they're gonna put you out," Norm said from across the room while the female doctor was trying to approach him with a syringe full of the drugs that are supposed to put him to sleep again.

Having their words come in one ear and out the other, Jake just laughed and started heading for the exit only in his hospital gown. He messily trudged to the door while Norm got up to go after him. Seeing what he was about to do, Norm's doctor demanded he sit down but he refused and tried to get out of the cords he was attached to.

"No, no, I gotta get out of these leads" Norm insisted and began to work himself out of his attachments. "Goddamit! Bring them home! Norm, do not leave control!" The doctor yelled in exasperation at the situation.

The two doctors in charge of Jake chased after him, seeing Jake had already made it to the last door that lead to the outside. Jake sighed happily at the feeling of the sun beaming down on him, but also letting his new eyes adjust at the same time. Jake continued to sprint, something he has wanted to do again for years, and passed through a basketball court where other Avatars with regular human clothes were playing a one-on-one game together.

"Hey, guys" Jake greeted them, running sloppily, still trying to get adjusted to running again. The two Avatars playing basketball stepped out of Jake's way, seeing as he walked right through the middle of their game. Norm came out of the door a few seconds later and reassured the doctors that he'll get Jake back for them.

"It's okay, I'll get him" Norm assured everyone who is witnessing the situation, both the doctors and the other active Avatars. "Jake! Jake!" Norm called after his fellow driver.

"Jake! You have to come back!" The female doctor yelled after him but stopped eventually knowing that they'll never catch up to him.

Paying attention to nobody, Jake began running through the obstacle course at the base and almost running over anyone who came through his path, but regardless, he kept running. "Jake, we're not supposed to be running!" Norm warned as he was running after Jake but quickly realized that he was running out of steam to run.

Jake was starting to get used to his Avatar body more and more with each passing second. He was becoming less messy with his running and began starting to have more coordination. His feet felt the ground and sprinted through the base with adrenaline flowing through his veins. He began to run faster and laughed at the feeling. Without being careful, he ran so fast that he nearly crashed into someone in an Ampsuit that was wandering around.

"Oh, geez. Sorry" Jake said, turning to the person behind him momentarily to apologize but kept running. "Watch it!" The person inside the Ampsuit replied but continued on his way.

Jake couldn't help but grin as he reached a garden where he ran and let his feet touch the soil and the ground. He kept running and let this incredible feeling consume him completely. He eventually skidded to a stop and took a deep breath. Jake let his lungs fill up with fresh air and let the wind flow in his face gently while he sighed at the feeling.

He then looked at the sky and began to get deep in thought. Jake looked down at his feet that were planted in the soil and let his fingers curl around the grains of dirt, something he hasn't done in years and it felt incredible to have that mobility again.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a familiar voice come from afar. "Hey, Marine!" Grace yelled from across the garden, and Jake opened his eyes to see Grace in her Avatar form, dressed in human clothes.

"Grace?" Jake asked with slight relief, amusement and disbelief all at once. "Well, who did you expect numb nuts? Think fast" Grace said with a smile while taking fruit from a bush nearby and tossing it to him.

Jake caught the fruit with ease and Grace smiled, seeing that his motor controls are looking good and stable for his first time as an Avatar. Jake took a bite from the fruit he was given and laughed at how good it was. Grace laughed at his reaction, happy to see fresh reactions to these kinds of experiences.

Eventually, the sun fell and it was nighttime. Grace got Jake some human clothes and had him get accustomed to Avatar camp where he did drills with other drivers and got to know them all. At the end of the day, all drivers gathered in this hut where the Avatars were supposed to rest. The house had fences, high security, and gates as well. Empty Avatars will stay in this house from now on, instead of in their tanks where they were developed.

"Alright, everybody quiet down! Gang, lights out!" Grace announced to other Avatars in the room who were getting ready for bed, to be released from their links and back to their human forms. While doing so, Grace caught Jake eyeing what was at the end of the inside of his braid. "Don't play with that. You'll go blind" Grace rolled her eyes. "That's kinda freaky" Jake chuckled, putting away the braid and letting it drape behind his back.

Grace then started to guide the scientists from the hut and back to the base. "Lights out! See you at dinner, kiddies" Grace announced to the rest of the Avatars. When that was done, she closed the gate, turned off the lights, and in a few minutes, everyone was lying down.

When Jake was ready, he got comfortable in his bed, and as soon as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, he was back in his human body and still in the pod back at the base.

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Hello! I hope you guys are liking the slow burn and longer chapters :,) I swear that Y/n and Jake will meet next chapter, and I already have it all planned out. I just want every detail to be mentioned so that there's no confusion at all later on

Im so happy that i've been managing to do almost daily updates, because I feel super inspired to write lately.

I posted this story two days ago and it already has 300 reads omg- this makes me so happy, I hope you guys will like what I have planned. Thank you so much for sticking around so far sgsh

Anyway, that's all for now. Don't forget to vote and comment! See you guys in the next one! <3

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