100 100. Failed Ambush

A few seconds earlier.

Laìo observed from above the trio of invaders. She never stopped once from following them after she sent her messages, there was no need to wait to show the way for her brethren for she simply placed noticeable traces of her passage behind.

And that is what they did, in a very short time a group of the most proficient hunters and warriors that had been informed gathered for this exciting hunt, they moved within the deadly labyrinthine caves with speed and efficiency for it was second nature to them.

She didn't know who those three were but only that they were intruders to be eliminated and captured and quite important ones at that. As such like any good hunter she wasn't going in blind as such she garnered further information than what she initially sent, but her observation proved confusing.

At first, she thought they were very unusual Na'vi, four digits and a thumb per hand being the glaring point but then there was the metal man with the two tetrapterons on his shoulder fully armored in shining metal and bright blue.

He was tall and big showing that muscles were behind but he had no tail or place for ears which led her to affirm he was of the Demon this line of thought also explained the two Na'vi not actually being Na'vi but only superficially looking like them, a pale and insulting imitation to their likeness if Laìo ever saw one.

Second and most important of all their behavior, they were noisy in all forms, their loud voice in a language she didn't understand echoing far and wide, while their body language was relaxed, their movement uncaring, and their actions… Reckless beyond reason, the lone female of the group was far above the other two others in that aspect.

She was far too curious for her own good, touching plants known for their deadly toxicity. Overall she lacked in its entirety any kind of survival instincts, it was a total mystery for Laìo how she hadn't been killed by her stupidity already.

But the group wasn't inexperienced, arrogant would be the term she would use to describe them. Yet arrogant and disrespectful of the danger as they may be they weren't defenseless, far from it, the one in metal had the unnatural capacity to create objects of thin air like a strange silver glassy tool that shot beams of orange light that stunned and scared away any animals or plants that attacked them.

By all accounts she was certain he was their leader, he was better equipped and bigger, his movement controlled to a point it was unnerving. He was the target to keep alive for his place but also the easiest to keep in shape with his armor of craftsmanship she had never seen before, and she wanted it.

He was to be captured, a direct order of the Matriarch and the rest was not up to her to decide she knew she could get a piece of him if she was tactful enough. No matter the form, the mere thought sends pleasant tingles all over her body, one area more than the others.

She turned her gaze to the Na'vi that had volunteered, their excitement oozing out of their bodies in the air. Tonight a new kind of meat, exotic meat, would be on the menu for they would not waste the ones that were to be killed. It would be the greatest of sins to not respect their games by not using them to their fullest. No matter what it entailed.

A thin smile formed under her mask, one of many meanings but if one word were to define it then the word dangerous would be it. Moving her scarred hands and slender fingers she did simple but precise hand gestures, their sign language, and the unspoken voice spread around.

The message was clear, 'prepare yourself and attack at my call'. She didn't need to remind them that breaking this order would lead to various punishments.

And that is what the group did, their body preparing for the ambush, the strings of bows were held taut the obsidian-tipped arrows ready to fly at any moment, as for the ones preferring melee they readied their weapon and adjusted their placement, and position.

Alas, the excitement had built far too much, and before Laìo could order the attack one of the more hotblooded warriors far too enthralled in his little world and bloodlust had let go of his bowstring with a cry, the arrow zipping through the air toward its target, the xenobotanist's forehead.

Laìo didn't have the time to react, and neither did anyone for that matter other than one, the one dressed in metal, his movements were swift shifting from one point to another in what appeared instantaneous. But his speed only came second to the sound her sensitive ears captured of the ballista bolt-sized arrow he grabbed in mid-air being snapped in half.

His helmeted head looked at the one that was shot at before shifting straight at them, and then from his chest plate, a dome of blue light made of tiny hexagons exploded outward covering a small zone that encompassed the two shell-shocked Avatars next to him in a sort of bubble.

Laìo stared in astonishment, her brain trying and failing to process what unfolded the same could be said for everyone else. The one that had fired in particular as he was also releasing his mishaps.

She spanned back first however, confusion, anger and a hint of fear rose in her heart as she yelled her order with as much force as she could muster, her voice harsh and piercing like one of a pissed-off drill sergeant, {Abandon stealth! Attack! Kill the one to be killed and cripple the one to be crippled!}

Her voice snapped everyone back into focus, their confusion vanishing and the excitement coming, war cries echoed far in the caves followed soon after by a rain of arrows falling down on the blue light… And they had absolutely no effect whatsoever, the expected death and blood never to be seen and smelled.

The arrows no matter who shot or the power behind harmlessly bounced back with almost an equal amount of force with no rules or pattern but the opposite angles to which they were shot.

As for the ones fond of the melee that had jumped down seconds after not fearing for their lives in the shower of deadly projectiles, be it either due to trust they had in the bowmen's skill or simple recklessness.

Their fate compared to the arrow was not much different, they bounced back off shields with little to no control of where they went and with equal force. Broken noses, dislocated limbs, torn muscles, and more were only a few of the injuries possible.

Six caught themselves back on nearby branches, the grounds, or floating stones with varying degrees of light injuries but two were not as lucky and ended with no holds above the void, not capable of flight they fell down in the crevices screaming in terror, their future unknown but certainly bleak if not deathly dark.

Their only hope was a swift death, painless was never an option when it came to this. Three unluckier ones got skewered by the comeback of the arrows leading to one falling, another dying on the spot, and the last screaming bloody murder as it went through his belly, then pelvis. It was chaos.

Just from this a third of the group that went for the melee died or became unable to proceed on the attack which in their world was the same. Laìo couldn't believe her eyes, the same was true for everyone else.

It shouldn't be possible, it shouldn't have time this way. Their expectations shattered, confusion spreading but rapidly turning to fear as more and more arrows were mindlessly shot, uncaring for the others unable to move below, the first, second, and third volley each doing nothing.

'At least we are safe-{AaaAAaHHh! It hurts! It HurTs!}, her thoughts were violently interrupted by a flash of light and the Na'vi next to her screaming in agony.

Her head turned instinctively to him, her heart leaped in her ribcage, not out of pity for him but to what it implied, to his hands were gone, but there wasn't blood, only blackened flesh.

Her eyes locked onto the culprits, the two tetrapterons. They were flying at inconceivable speed, with grave no wild animal should, their claws of bright energy cutting all matter apart, flesh and bones being their target and it was the flesh and bone of the group she was leading.

One after the other the critters flew in perfect synergy dodging arrows and cutting tissues apart yet never going for vital organs the damage was or at least should be lethal, but it wasn't all the wounds made instantaneously 'closed' by turning a deep black, stopping any immediate death due to hemorrhage.

The pain and shock of the sudden damage very much remained present, however.

Legs, feet, ankles, hands, arms, ears and so much more flew as the maniacal critters' claws of light weaved in the air, but that was only a part of the bloodless butchery, eyes, ears, chests, genitals were not spared.

Laìo didn't stay to see the pandemonium unfold any further; she wasn't one for being torn apart like a fanged mongrel chew toy and wasn't one to put her life below that of others. She ran in the opposite direction, terror in her heart.

At some point, the scream stopped and she felt hope but she didn't go that much farther before this hope was crushed in a flash of agony on her lower back as all feeling of this area and below including her legs became a blank in her brain. Luckily she was quick and caught herself on a branch before she fell.

Her mind was ablaze frozen when the one responsible landed lazily right in front of her face, it was one of the tetrapterons, its eyes with clarity only seen in fellow Na'vi visible through the helmet studying her expression painted in fear and agony.

Its four eyes moved to her hands then at her face, then back to her hands. Understanding with dread slowly crept into her mind and reached the obvious conclusion once it lifted one of its talons and we're the claws should be three long and thin blades of immaculate light manifested.

But this little bout of torture wasn't to be.

"No, Orien. There is no need for torture.", a deep voice said, ascending to her level, the tetrapteron stopped and turned around, seemingly dejected but the piece of meat thrown at it elevated its mood. Then it flew away cawing happily, it had other tasks to do, notably storing the wounded into Cryopods for ease of transport.

Relief was short-lived for Laìo as the face origin of the voice came into view, eyes of ethereal silver glowing with blue and purple, braided hair shifting between two states of matter, and tanned skin cracking with blue energy.

He was observing her like one would a piece of trash but instead of only indifference and disgust there was a hint of anger.

All of the fear she had felt until now was little more than nothing to what she was feeling present, she was facing the gaze of a superior being and her mind could not keep up yet she couldn't faint. Her body refused to, she realized the magnitude of her madness but it was too little and far too late.

Liam roughly grabbed the Na'vi by the neck, her erratic heartbeat fell through his gauntlet neither amused nor saddened as he lifted her.

His grip was like a vice carrying only to not crush her windpipe and snap the bones within like twigs he began his descent back on the ground holding her like one would a potato sack. The low sound of his jetpack was the only one in the caves.

'Doesn't even try to fight back… Cowardly piece of shit and she just pissed herself.', the post-human internally remarked, his nose wrinkling in disgust, he knew what was going on in her mind and memories, Eywa kept constant feedback for him and it was not pretty.

Rape, murder, cannibalism, and more sometimes not all in order or at the same time… All done by her and her fellow 'people' to varying degrees, the fact it was of her culture mattered little, it was a problem all its own. She was not forced to do so but she did and what she had briefly thought of doing to him.

But in the end, all of this was just an excuse to build the Red Obelisk in this location. Violence was going to be used but he needed for others to understand that it was the only way to not antagonize them.

Mentally sighting Liam threw her on the ground once he was low enough to avoid injury but not much more else. She half yelled and half cried as she landed face-first in the mud at Jake's feet, pain flaring evergreen as she coughed trying to regain her breath.

Once this was done she lifted her and her eyes met the ones of the Olo'eykyan such were almost as chilling as the other. He was pissed off for what was attempted.

And her pitiful state didn't garner any pity from him, if it wasn't for Liam she, like all of her clan mates would have been killed. Creatures like them didn't deserve to live and if they did then they shouldn't have attacked but that was just a small group and he didn't have the whole picture.

{Why? What are the reasons behind such an attack? I'm the Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya, your action depending on the future could be considered a declaration of war and your clan eradicated.}, Jake questioned, his glare of anger unmistakable but he got no answer and he knew none would be satisfactory.

And that is why no answer was given aside from a confused if scared gaze, there was no reason to do so aside from stupidity, selfishness, or some twisted goal which was the first two but in a different color.

Grace to side stared blankly at a disembodied hand, the skin of a pale grey-blue, with sharper and longer nails, calling them claws wouldn't be inaccurate. One of the many unique anatomical features of the Na'vi living in this environment but it was not the time for this.

Their eyes, the hate, the anticipation filled with sadistic glee, and cruelty that had turned to abject horror and primal terror once they realized they couldn't win… The skeletons… Her mind had already formed an idea of their culture but. All of this… For what?

"I… Couldn't we have just spoken?", she mumbled to herself, she was conflicted. It happened all so fast and she knew Liam knew about their preteens and simply didn't act for some justifiable reason so she wasn't even angry, just disappointed at the possibility squashed by every party. But also disappointed in herself for being so naive it would have gone smoothly for their first interaction.

Liam observing the two frowned slightly, he could see the gears grinding in their minds, still even after the attack the option of some peace was a possibility. He didn't need to kill more than strictly necessary but he was going to try nonetheless.

"I will heal her so nobody will have the burden to carry her. We will continue from where we were attacked and meet their leader, be advised that no matter the result the Tek Teleporter will be built today.", the post-human announced before coughing loudly, his hand stopping any blood from escaping directly going to his inventory.

'Yeah, no matter the result, the Obelisk will be built.'

*

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