-
Italics: (Na'vi language, Metkayina sign language, and Jake's inner thoughts)
-

The sun was setting and nighttime was falling once again upon Awa'atlu. The skies were painted with purple and blue hues, and torches were beginning to be lit all around the village. Things cooled down a bit after the whole bonding with Payakan ordeal, and now, Lo'ak and Tsireya were taking a walk together through the beach littered with palm trees.

As he walked in front of her and the two teens passed by a big leaf in the way with a bit of a hill in their path, so Lo'ak instinctively held it back until the girl walked by so that Tsireya could come through and not be abruptly hit by it. The two continued to walk forward, but, as soon as Tsireya started to speak, Lo'ak turned around to face the Metkayina princess. Their walk had been silent up until then, but as of now, there were a few things on her mind that she wanted him to know.

"The storm will pass. Lo'ak; I saw something today. I saw a forest boy chosen by Tulkun," Tsireya started, with nothing but gentleness and understanding laced in her voice. He wasn't facing the girl completely, so Tsireya took it upon herself to move and stand in front of him, putting a hand on his arm. "I am very proud of you," Tsireya said, meaning every word, and Lo'ak could only gaze at the girl intently waiting for her next words, but he decided to speak first and say something.

"Payakan didn't kill those boys. I saw it all. The demon ship killed his mother right in front of him, so he gathered the young bulls and the reef boys together to attack the ship, and they were all killed," Lo'ak said, and Tsireya's ears tipped back at listening to such a sad story.

"But by the Sky People, not by him. He's not a killer," Lo'ak said truthfully, and in Tsireya's mind, there wasn't an ounce of doubt. She believed him, but by the laws of the Tulkun, things worked out differently. "No, Lo'ak. By the Tulkun way, he is. He bears those deaths," Tsireya said, but Lo'ak couldn't help but feel frustrated at the fact that Payakan had to suffer being lonely and guilty for having good intentions, even if it wasn't the right choice.

"Will he have to pay for it for the rest of his life? He knows what he did was wrong. He would never do it again" Lo'ak countered, and Tsireya sighed as her eyes softened. She thought that maybe if he told Tonowari his perspective, then things might change. Tsireya gently grabbed his wrist and tried to guide him back to the village. "We must tell my father..." She said, but Lo'ak instantly refused.

"No, no. I'm in enough trouble with my dad already," Lo'ak said, even if the conversation he had with his dad earlier that day loomed in the back of his mind. In some ways, maybe Jake was ready to listen, but Lo'ak wouldn't take that chance. "Your father will understand," Tsireya said, but Lo'ak shook his head.

"No, he won't. He doesn't understand anything," Lo'ak said, as much as it pained him to even say that out loud. Was that the kind of relationship that a father should have with his son? He wished so badly that things were different. "The whole clan hates me. Demon blood, alien. That's all they see" Lo'ak continued holding up his five-fingered hand, and Tsireya couldn't help but gingerly grab ahold of it, inspecting each and every one of his fingers as a silent message that no matter how many fingers he has, Lo'ak is a part of their clan now. She held his pinky finger, turning to look at Lo'ak, still holding her hands with his.

"I see you," Tsireya started, and Lo'ak couldn't help but lock gazes with her, entranced by the girl and everything she was saying. "You are brother of Tulkun. You are one of us now," Tsireya continued, and at her words, Lo'ak couldn't help but smile a little and exhale through his nose, not taking his eyes off her.

-

(A/N: This part will be really sad to write :( I was honestly dreading it because it's so sad and it breaks my heart how it happens on Earth too. I know many of you look forward to the storyline itself, but I feel like this is really important too 🤍 Of the entire movie, I think this is one of those scenes that I wanted to show the most because of how it applies to us so much too as humans. It makes us think)

Out in the open sea, a herd of Tulkuns was swimming peacefully amongst each other. It was only a small group, rather than the entire group that visited the Metkayina days before. In this herd, Ronal's spirit sister, Ro'a, and her newborn calf were swimming together. What these creatures didn't know is that they were the next target for the RDA. Ro'a became a target because she swims slower for her newborn calf and is easier to catch. That is usually the same strategy every single time. The mothers with their calfs were always the easiest ones to go after.

As Ro'a was swimming through the water with her calf right by her side, a helicopter from the RDA swooped from above and launched a tracker to embed itself right onto the Tulkun's mother's back. Realizing that she had been hit with something, Ro'a howled with pain and as a warning for the other Tulkuns. Now, the SeaDragon had a clear view of where the herd was, and more specifically, where Ro'a and her calf were. The Tulkuns began to swim closer together, like in safety in numbers.

From the SeaDragon in the main base of the operations room, Scoresby was looking at a hologram that displayed the movement of the herd of Tulkun, with Ro'a being shown in a different color because of the tracker. "You got my mother?" The hunter asked, and the woman manning the hologram and overseeing the movement nodded. "Mother and the calf, strong signal, range 4000," The woman said, and Garvin leaned over to see the display too.

"Bring it down on the hull" Scoresby announced, enthusiastically walking around each station. Spider was standing right next to the man that was in charge of the controls of the ship, so after Scoresby's orders, the man immediately pulled down the levers and the ship began to descend from its position above water to glide through the choppy seas of open waters. "Coming down on it," The man said, letting Scoresby know that his orders were completed and they could move on.

From the very top deck of the SeaDragon, the roof above it began to open from its sides, leaving the deck out in the open, and it left space for the many machines that are supposed to engage in this part of the hunt. This included Crab Suits, helicopters, Mako Submersibles, and so much more heavy machinery.

Soldiers were beginning to enter their machines and strapping themselves in as those who were in the submersibles had the doors below them begin to open, revealing the water they would be released onto. "Sub teams, two minutes! Let's do this! Let's get in there! Hatches closed!" Scoresby announced as he walked through the deck with Quaritch right behind him, overseeing the preparations.

Passing by many people rushing to get ready to hunt this single Tulkun, Scoresby rounded the deck hurrying everybody up. "Come on! Hustle! Hustle! Crews to their boats! 2 minutes; let's make some bag!" The hunter yelled, reminding everybody what this whole operation was for. No matter how greedy it was, most people sold out for the money.

Quaritch and Scoresby passed by a big boat, which had the name of Matador, and it had a harpoon launcher settled right on the very front of it. Scoresby passed by and reminded the boat crew to move it along because they were set to depart soon. Quaritch put his fingers right on the front part of the sharp harpoon, feeling the sharpness of the tip. It seemed pretty lethal, especially to Tulkun.

Soon enough, platforms and ramps were beginning to be released onto the water so that the soldiers in their machines could be released onto the water, as well as the Matador boat. "All boats in! Boats in!" Scoresby announced, right at the same moment that one of the smaller boats was being released onto the water, which were Picadors; used as pursuit boats because of how fast and agile they are.

As the boats began to descend the ramp and onto the water, Quaritch had already boarded the Matador with Scoresby so he could be there in person during the hunt. Variations of Picador boats were released as well, following the lead of the boat that the Colonel and Tulkun hunter were in. "We're rolling!" One of the men in the Matador said, giving the cue to move forward and begin the hunt.

Once all boats were in the water, the SeaDragon was docked and unmoving while the group finally started to make their trek through the water on their boats. At the feeling of rushing through the ocean and the boats bouncing on the water because of the speed, the men all laughed and yelled out with adrenaline coursing through them.

Meanwhile, the herd of Tulkuns was still swimming away as fast as they could, but as predicted, Ro'a had to swim slower so that her newborn could keep up. The tracker was still embedded in her back, beeping loudly. Helicopters were flying above them and keeping up with the Tulkun pod as the boats started to rush into where they were. As a group, the Tulkun pod all collectively submerged themselves and began to swim further down into the ocean, with hopes of losing the Sky People moving fast on their trail.

Watching this from the boat, Scoresby had a scan in front of him that showed where the Tulkuns were swimming to. "Standby, depth charges in. Fire! Fire! Fire!" Scoresby ordered, and with that, several bombs were launched from the top part of the boat, and they landed right where the pod was swimming in. Upon contact with the water, the bombs emitted a loud sound wave that was hurtful to the Tulkun and their ability to use echolocation, which threw them off course, slowing them down.

The Tulkuns wailed in pain at the sound waves reaching them, and the impact was just too great on them. Due to this, they couldn't stay further down in the ocean because it was too painful, so the Tulkun were forced to come up to the surface. Now, they were in the direct eye-line of the boats rushing in adults and newborn calfs included. Scoresby turned to Quaritch and gave him a look that said; 'This is how it's done', but he was too blinded by wanting to make money that he didn't see how cruel it was.

From the SeaDragon, Spider was standing next to Garvin, watching the transmission of the hunt from the main room. His eyebrows furrowed as his heart tugged in pain at what he was seeing. "What's that? What are they doing?" Spider asked Ian, pointing to the screen and seeing the Tulkun come up to the surface, wailing in distress. "Those are echolocation sensors, with which they navigate. They keep them afloat so they don't go deaf," Ian explained while Lyle took a breath out of the air mask, watching the transmission too.

Back on the Matador boat, Quaritch watched all of this happen with no words to say. Not that he cared, but he simply preferred to watch than ask a million questions. "Picadors," Scoresby yelled out to the smaller boats riding beside them. "Get in there! Go on! Get in there!" The hunter said, prompting the men on smaller boats to accelerate their boats and get ahead of the Matador and head towards the pod of Tulkuns that had been slowed down.

All of the Picador boats began to ride up right next to, and in between, the pod of Tulkuns. The men manning the boats rode up so fast that they mounted the Tulkun's backs like a ramp, and then came down to the water. They rammed the boats right up to the Tulkun's sides. What they wanted to do was separate Ro'a and her calf from the rest of the pod, and then separate the calf from her mother.

One Picador boat rode right next to Ro'a now that they had separated her and her newborn from the pod, and the men on it immediately began to release sonic sound waves with a machine that distorted the Tulkun's movements, making Ro'a wail in pain. The mother Tulkun swam messily since her senses were being affected by the sound waves being projected onto her and her calf.

Back on the SeaDragon, Spider watched intently what was happening before his eyes. That mother was getting all of her inhibitions taken away so that they could separate her from her kid. "They're gonna cut the cow from the rest of the pod using a sound cannon. They, uh, target the mother because the calf swims slowly and she won't leave the calf," Ian explained, and that seemed to make Spider's heart hurt even more. It was so cruel.

On the Matador, Scoresby watched the operation go by smoothly. Quaritch then began to speak even through the loud noise. "Do they ever fight back?" The Colonel asked, but Scoresby shook his head nonchalantly. "No, I've never seen 'em lift a fin! Tough bastards to kill, though" The hunter yelled out, laughing. "Submarine teams go!" Scoresby said through his coms, and on the SeaDragon, those on the Mako Submersibles were dropped onto the water, and once below the surface, they immediately spotted Ro'a swimming with her calf, alone and away from the pod as planned.

"There is our gal, right there" One of the men manning the submarines relayed through the coms, seeing Ro'a getting closer. "Target in sight. Harpoons ready. Here we go, baby" The man said, seeing Ro'a spot the submarine and begin to swim the other way. Even with her sudden change of course, the submarines continued to chase after her and her newborn.

From the Matador boat up in the surface, Scoresby left the controls to someone else and began to move over to sit behind the harpoon launcher, with Quaritch right behind him. "So we go in from below, where there are gaps in the armor," Scoresby said, positioning himself to fire and pulling the lever on the side to activate the mechanism. This was all happening while the submarine team below kept chasing Ro'a and her calf right toward Scoresby's boat.

One of the controlling submarines below prepared to launch the inflatable anchors. "Alright, let's go. Okay, that's it now. Get me really close" The man said, maneuvering the submarine so it is directly under Ro'a and shining a light on her belly. After having a clear target, they began to keep that distance from the mother Tulkun. "Hold it steady. Arm one," The man said, relaying the message to the other people on the submarines beside him.

"Armed," The man confirmed, targeting the light to her back fin. And then, it was time to shoot. "Target leveled. And...rolling!" The man called out, launching the spear, and upon contact with Ro'a's fin, the anchor inflated. The mother began to wail and cry out at the feeling, sensing nothing but agony coursing through her. Because the anchor inflated, a side of her began to rise to the surface. She still didn't give up and continued to try and swim away.

On Ro'a's other side, a woman was manning another submarine, and she repeated the same process that the man before she did, launching another spear to her other back fin. "Fire," The woman said, shooting the anchor, and then watching as it makes contact with the Tulkun's fin as it inflated. Now, Ro'a was beginning to ascend to the surface even quicker. "Good strike, arm two!" The woman called out, preparing to launch another one, but this time, the spear stabbed right through one of Ro'a's frontal fins, much like the anchor Payakan had. "Booyah! The man said, seeing success and accuracy in their hunt so far.

"Nice! 3-6, you owe us beer!" The woman laughed, watching as Ro'a was beginning to appear from above the service, appearing directly in Scoresby's sight, in a perfect spot for him to launch the harpoon. Watching this, Scoresby began to laugh in accomplishment and explained the situation to Quaritch. "The bags slow her down and pull her up towards the surface," The hunter explained, turning to look at the crew in the back.

"Get on her! Get me in there. Straight up on her. 30 meters," Scoresby said, beginning to align the harpoon directly to where he wanted it to hit. A part of Ro'a had accepted her fate, but she wanted to protect her calf even if she died. Now that she was up on the surface with all of those inflatable anchors attached to her, they had a clear shot at her, so she couldn't escape.

On the SeaDragon, Spider continued to watch with horror as the mother and her calf were cornered and had no chance to escape. Garvin continued to explain the situation to the boy, being the marine biologist that he is, it hurt Ian just as much as Spider to watch this happen. "Explosive tipped harpoon," Ian explained, but Spider couldn't muster anything to say.

For Scoresby and his group, they began to get closer and closer to Ro'a who had slowed down by a lot. The hunter aligned the harpoon directly to the spot that would instantly kill the mother. "10 meters. Get me in there," Scoresby said to his crew, who complied and accelerated the boat and now they were as close as being right behind Ro'a's tail, which was splashing and thrashing violently in front of them.

"Now, steady, steady...keep the boat steady! Hold, hold..." Scoresby said, finding the right opportunity for Ro'a to raise her tail high enough so that he can shoot. And with that, Scoresby launched the harpoon with a metal rod connected to it the moment Ro'a lifted her tail. He could see where the harpoon went through a camera on it, that displayed where landed on a small screen in front of him. The weapon was released and went directly underwater, then stabbed and attached to Ro'a's abdomen. She wailed and howled in distress and torture. Ro'a knew she was going to die, but she wanted her son to save himself because she has already had a death sentence.

The pain was so great and Ro'a came up to the surface, which was perfect for the next part of the hunt. "Hold onto your ponytail, Colonel," Scoresby warned, because the next thing they knew since the harpoon was attached to a cord on the boat, they were all beginning to be harshly pulled through the water. The mother Tulkun thrashed in the water, tugging on the cord tightly as Ro'a made some last few attempts to escape, even if it was futile.

"Full power back!" Scoresby yelled out to the man controlling the boat. He did as told and immediately halted the Matador, trying to make it rev backward a bit. At the sudden tug of being held back and the harpoon digging into her skin, Ro'a howled with anguish, splashing her fins and tails desperately trying to survive. The impact of her tail splashing on the water sent what felt like gallons to Quaritch's face, and Scoresby's.

The Tulkun hunter turned back to the man behind him, prepared to give the last few orders. "Hold her! Hold her!" He yelled through the noise and then turned back to face the Tulkun they'd caught. "She takes an explosive harpoon to the chest, and she's still running. Beautiful," Scoresby laughed at her attempt to even try and get away.

Knowing these were probably her last moments alive, Ro'a wailed and cried in misery. She was in so much pain in every part of her body and felt internal organs start to shut down. The harpoon hit her chest and abdomen in the most vital spots of her body. She knew she was dying, and her son, who was still swimming beside her trying to get away was probably going to be killed too.

In the SeaDragon, Spider's face contorted into one of affliction when seeing the mother's desperate cries to live. The boy was disgusted by the unnecessary brutality brought upon these creatures who didn't do anything wrong. Garvin was watching the footage as well, feeling a pang of guilt and sadness take over him for taking part in something so ruthless.

As for Ro'a, with each passing second, it was clear that she wouldn't come out of this situation alive. Her son would be left alone. The pod was probably far away by now, and if he didn't manage to get out of there, they would most likely kill him anyway. As Ro'a continue to try and give her last moments to save her and her son, she eventually felt her organs shut down. The last thing she did was lift her head from the water and emit a loud and agonizing wail before she finally passed. Her lifeless body floated on the water as her calf began to swim around his dead mother, seeing her eyes roll to the back of her head, losing the life in them completely.

As her limp body stayed afloat and her calf cried out in anguish at his mother's death, the boats began to surround and corner the female Tulkun while Scoresby had an accomplished look spread all over his face. To him, it was another completed hunt, but he really had no clue or any idea of what he just did.

Back at the main base of operations in the SeaDragon ship, Spider watched with horror and disgust at what he witnessed. And the fact that the crew began clapping and cheering for this was sickening. They were all high-fiving each other, and for what? Contributing to meaningless murder? His mind was truly baffled at the fact that anybody on the ship is proud of something like that.

Now that the mother was lifeless, the soldiers and crew who were in the Crab Suits began to approach from below Ro'a and then climb up to her back and proceeded to insert and stab Ro'a with metal hoops that would be useful for when they transport her onto the ship. The newborn calf swam all around her mother, rubbing his snout on his mother with sadness and pain that she was brutally murdered. The people in the Crab Suits did not pay mind to the calf wailing in a high-pitched call in suffering and excruciating emotional pain.

Garvin saw Spider in the corner of his eyes and saw how the boy had his eyebrows furrowed and tears brimming in his eyes. If he had to be honest, Ian was bothered by every single one of these hunting missions, but he was a marine biologist and it was his job. Nature on Earth was decimated, and it turns out that unfortunately, the RDA had resorted to acts of violence like these towards Tulkuns.

He really questioned his job, because he hates being part of something as unforgiving as this. He goes along with what the RDA says so that he can keep his lab and the organization doesn't take it away from him. What he truly wants to do is study the Pandoran ocean where he would rather spend time taking samples and getting data, rather than helping the RDA meet their quota for hunting Tulkuns like this.

Later on, when Ro'a is loaded onto the ship, the met hoops placed on her beforehand are now used to keep her body lifted and to open her mouth so that Scoresby, Garvin, Spider, and Quaritch can go inside. Aside from those small hoops hooked on her, there are retractable poles placed on the inside of her mouth to keep it open. Right now, the group was on a moving platform that was taking them inside the female Tulkun's mouth. On the platform, there was a serrated and cylindrical knife ready to be used. Spider watched with worry as he saw the scientist in charge, align the serrated circular knife in a specific spot in Ro'a's mouth.

"We can only get to the gland from below, so we drill up through the palate, and into the brain," Garvin explained as the platform continued to lift them higher up towards the roof of the Tulkun's mouth. The machine eventually stopped and the drilled knife was being positioned to align directly upwards toward the brain of now deceased Ro'a.

"These are highly intelligent beings. Probably even smarter than us," Garvin said, looking at the monitor in front of him to locate the brain. "Not smarter than me," Scoresby piped in, making Ian laugh slightly. "That is setting the bar very low," Garvin said, making Spider laugh, but as expected, Scoresby was offended. "Hey, I'm the one with the harpoon," The hunter said, glaring at Garvin, who looked unbothered by his words and his glare.

The marine biologist proceeded to configure the drill so that it powers up and starts rising to the spot that they were looking for. Quaritch watched with curiosity as the drill went upwards, waiting to see what happens. Once the serrated edge made contact with the roof of the mouth, it drew a bit of blood but, it was washed down as it continued to drill through the skin. When Garvin saw in the monitor that they had hit the brain, he powered it down and the machine stopped, coming back down and leaving a big hole in the Tulkun's mouth.

"How do you know? That they're smarter than us," Spider asked, to which Garvin answered even if he was focused on the monitor in front of him. "Well, they have more neurons, more pathways. Not only are they smarter, but also deeply emotional. More spiritual," Garvin said, with Spider paying full attention. The biologist turned around to see that the syringe was ready to be inserted into the hole they just made. Eventually, the syringe moved upwards and was inserted right through the hole, beginning to extract what they were looking for.

Garvin pointed to the area of the brain on the monitor that was yellow, aside from the rest of the scans that were shown as blue. "This region here corresponds to our emotional centers, but for them, it's proportional and much larger," Garvin said, and Spider didn't miss a single thing. He began to feel immense pity for these animals now more than ever. "They have music, philosophy, mathematics, and a complex language," Garvin continued to tell the human boy about what the culture and way of life of the Tulkuns are like, and if anything, he felt guilt and shame building inside of him.

Garvin sighed and looked at the monitor, seeing that the syringe was ready to extract. "Okay, here we go," The biologist said, turning to face the vial that was slowly being filled up by some sort of thick yellow-gold liquid. "Show me the money," Scoresby said, watching intently how the vial was filling up to the brim.

Quaritch came around and stood behind Scoresby, watching the RDA vial glow at the liquid inside. "So that's what this is all about?" Quaritch mused, and Garvin nodded. "Yep. That's it," The biologist said, knowing that the death of this animal wasn't worth what was being filled up in that vial. None of this was.

"It's Amrita," Garvin continued, watching Scoresby light a flashlight beside the now-filled vial. Once it was completely secure, Scoresby proceeded to take the light off and remove the vial from its holder and taking it into his grasp. "Bad luck for the big guys. This stuff just happens to stop human aging. Like, stops it," The hunter said, which is why the Tulkuns have become the biggest targets.

"Ounce for ounce, the single most valuable substance known to man," Scoresby started, beginning to turn on the same flashlight from before and running it across the yellow substance. It was like he was in a trance every time he looked at it. "This little vial here is worth like 80 million," He said, and all of a sudden decided to fake throw it at Spider, who felt like his life flashed before his eyes after that."Think fast!" The man said, catching the vial in his hands again, laughing at his own joke.

"Please, don't. It's never funny," Garvin deadpanned. If Scoresby dropped that vial, this would have all been for nothing. Quaritch had a few thoughts in his mind about this man, but he just decided to stay quiet. "Amrita is what's paying for everything here on Pandora now. Even your research, Dr. G." Scoresby reminded, and Garvin was already aware of that fact. He just wanted to harmlessly learn about Pandora's nature. But it came at a price.

"It's why I drink," Garvin half-joked, but Spider was left thinking about something else now that the vial was collected. "So, that's all you take? You just throw away and waste the rest?" Spider asked with disgust laced in his voice. All of that, just for a tiny capsule of liquid. Scoresby glared at the boy, not answering his question. The hunter ignored Spider and gave the same orders he always did after this.

"Drop the bags. Let's sink her!" Scoresby ordered coldly, meaning to let Ro'ams corpse go into the ocean and never be seen again, not even by her son. Spider is genuinely horrified at the delight this hunter takes by killing Tulkuns, and how much pleasure he takes in just grabbing what he wants and then dumping the body when he's done. It was sickening. To Scoresby, it was just another adventure that he got a thrill out of. To see him smile when the female Tulkun was helpless and trying to live was a sadistic sight to see. Seeing the gigantic creature writhing in pain gave him pleasure. Even if he was one himself, Spider came to loathe human beings, just by seeing how much the hunter enjoyed watching the mother and her calf struggle, not understanding why or how this was happening to them. To think that this is what happened to Payakan's mother when he was just a child is saddening.

Before Scoresby could walk out, Quaritch stopped the hunter. "No, leave the bags alone. I want them to know it was us," The Colonel said, but Scoresby narrowed his eyes. "I charge extra for being used as bait" The hunter challenged, but Quaritch didn't have any problem in paying any dues that come his way.

-

Quaritch's wish was granted soon enough, and Ro'a's body was dumped into the ocean, to which her own calf and the rest of the pod found her later. The corpse was lifeless and with no sign of movement at all. The pod of Tulkuns came back and crowded their fallen victim of the Sky People. Unfortunately, Ro'a's calf died soon after she was dropped back into the ocean and the hunters left the area.

Roa had been waiting years to give birth, and that was for a very long time. The female Tulkun also had expressed to Ronal, her spirit sister, how happy she was to see her newborn. The mother did everything she could to protect her own, but it died anyway in the end. The other Tulkun who came back to see Ro'a saw her calf dead and tucked under her fin.

Ronal and Tonowari were soon alerted of this and didn't hesitate to rush to tell you and Jake. Before you knew it, you were riding behind Jake on his Skimwing, along with other warriors on their ilu's, and of course, Ronal and Tonowari. They rode out to the open sea for a long time, but eventually, in the corner of your eye you could see many figures huddled together around a very still looking one.

It was raining and the sky was dark grey. Many birds were circling Ro'a's corpse, as well as her calfs'. Your heart dropped at the sight in front of you, then Jake turned his head back to face you and it was clear that he was just as pained as you are. Either way, it couldn't compare to what Ronal was feeling at that moment. Recognizing immediately that it was her spirit sister, Ronal leaped off of her ilu and onto the water, swimming towards the deceased female Tulkun with choked sobs escaping her. She moved to sit on Ro'a's fin, placing a hand on the place just above her eye.

Ronal's breathing hitched and her throat closed as more tears began to freefall down her cheeks. Just the sight of the Tulkun's eyes rolling to the back of its head was enough for Ronal to start wailing and sobbing in pure agony. She felt like she had lost a part of herself, and somebody she connected with so well, and now her spirit sister was gone.

Ronal turned around and saw the baby Tulkun, lifeless as well, floating next to its mother. Ronal cried with yells mingled with sobs, she leaned in to place both of her hands around the skin of her fallen sister. Your heart clenched at the sight, it was brutal. Sinister. Vile. Jake looked at the scene in front of him and it was clear who was responsible. Sky People. Who else would be capable of something like this?

"Her name is Ro'a" Tonowari said, making you and Jake turn to look at the Olo'eyktan. Your breath shuddered as you leaned your cheek against Jake's back. Ronal needed time to grieve, but you were going to be there for her more than ever. Losing someone who you have such a spiritual and emotional connection with must feel like your world is ending, and she deserved to feel like someone was keeping her afloat during this time, and giving her the strength she needs to continue.

"She was my spirit sister. She was the composer of songs. The most renowned one in her pod," Ronal sobbed, not daring to let go. "Much revened, we would sing together," The Tsahik continued, closing her eyes shut as she felt more tears and grief coursing through her. "She waited many breeding cycles to have this calf. The clan was so happy for her" Ronal cried, feeling her voice breaking with every word she muttered. At the mention of the newborn, Jake turned to look at the newborn nearby. He truly felt sick to his stomach.

"What is this, Tonowari?" Ronal cried, turning back to look at her husband. The internal turmoil he felt for his mate was inexplicable, but he really did not know the answer to her question. He was trying to figure it out himself. "What is this?!" Ronal yelled, and Tonowari couldn't even muster anything to say.

You didn't hesitate to say anything else before jumping into the water from the Skimwing, despite Jake's surprise and warnings to be careful, and made your way over to Ronal. You moved to sit beside her on Ro'a's fin, and as soon as Ronal noticed your presence, she wrapped her arms around you and cried endlessly on your shoulder. Without thinking it twice, you wrapped your arms around her shoulders, bringing your friend close to you and shutting your eyes close. Silent tears slipped from your own eyes, devastated for what happened, and Ronal's loss.

While you held Ronal and she cried into your arms, you let her cry as much as she needed to. Jake and Tonowari looked at each other, wordlessly agreeing that this wasn't over, and whoever did this needed to pay. As Tonowari moved his Skimwing closer to you and Ronal, comforting his wife as well, Jake took it upon himself to inspect the area on his Skimwing.

He crossed the waters for a bit and then passed under Ro'a's fin, he turned the corner and heard beeping coming from his left. His eyes narrowed to see what it was and tried to get closer to it. It was a red-looking apparatus, and every time it beeped, a light flashed. Jake noticed it was embedded in Ro'a's skin, and the closer he got to it, he spotted something that made his blood boil and gaze darken.

It was the RDA logo plastered on the device.

-

Well, things really are starting to go south. Im so nervous because Im sure you guys know that the big battle comes soon, and you know what that means :( I wanna go back to those cute and wholesome scenes shsj there's so much tragedy coming I can't take it.

There's only about an hour left of the movie, so i'll work to divide that hour into the chapters that are left. I swear, writing this chapter genuinely almost made me cry-

Also, I promise I am trying to find a loophole for Neteyam :,) If I don't end up doing that and follow the movie as planned, I promise I'll do an alternate ending that's much happier <3

What would you guys like after this story while we wait for the third movie? OC x Jake? Lo'ak fanfic? Netetam fanfic? One-shot book with requests? You guys just say the word and ill make it happen! <3

There's not much I have to say now, but as always, I'll add other news in future chapters if there are any at all, and besides, my life has been uneventful recently lmao Anyway, I'll see you all in the next one! 🤍 Have a good rest of your week and good weekend everyone!

-