Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or any characters or materials taken from the movie, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: This story is party inspired by Jerathai's many wonderful Avatar stories. Thanks, Jerathai for all your amazing Avatar stories that helped inspire this very flawed, but hopefully still enjoyable one. (Figures after the third rewrite I finally manage to get this original enough to post. At least, I think so.)

Chapter 1: After.

When Jake awoke to his new life as a full Na'vi, the first thing he saw was the shining golden eyes of his mate. Neytiri's eyes were brimful of love and happiness as her mate woke and slowly sat up. She supported him in her arms, looking deeply into his eyes. Jake smiled.

"I See you," he murmured softly in Na'vi.

"I See you," she replied in kind, touching the bridge of her nose to his.

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by Mo'at. She gently touched Neytiri's shoulder, causing her daughter to look up. The Tsahik smiled softly at her daughter and son-in-law.

"Jake needs rest. Come. We will make him comfortable," she said, gently helping Jake to stand.

Jake got to his feet and at once felt woozy. He swayed unsteadily. Several Omaticaya moved to help, but Mo'at shooed them away.

"Back! The poor man has just been born. Give him some air or he will never recover!" the Tsahik admonished.

The Na'vi obeyed the Tsahik and kept as respectful a distance as the circumstances permitted. It wasn't every day that someone passed through Eywa and returned after all. Soon though, Neytiri and Mo'at had Jake resting comfortably on a bed of moss. Neytiri would not be parted from him and kept fierce guard over him as he slept. Mo'at left them to each other, tending to the People according to her duty, so the new Olo'ektan might recover.

After a few days, Jake was recovered enough to walk about, but Ley'net, the First Healer, said he would not be able to mount his ikran for a few more days, so they remained at the Tree of Souls awhile longer. During this time, Mo'at spent a good deal of time in the tsahik-trance, communing with the All Mother to ascertain what the Clan should do once all were able to travel, for more than a few of the People were injured and in need of healing before they could be safely moved. On the seventh day after Jake's transfer, when Ley'net pronounced him able to ride and many of the others able to be moved, Mo'at had her answer.

Standing before the People, the Tsahik made known the will of Eywa. "The People will fly to the north. When they come upon a pair of ikran flying in the mating dance above a great tree, they will know they have found the new Hometree. At the base of the tree, they will also find a large group of yerik. The hunters are to take as many of the herd as they can shoot, even unto the whole of the herd, for the People. This is the will of Eywa."

Many of the Na'vi gasped, for there was no doubt the hunters could easily take a whole herd and such was not normally their way, but if the Tsahik said it was will of Eywa it was not their place to question. Jake suddenly stood up straighter and came forward almost as though in a trance.

His eyes locked with Mo'at's and he said, "The Tree of Voices grows again."

Mo'at was stunned by the look in his eyes even more than by his announcement. She just barely had the composure left to inquire, "What?"

"When the time is right, the People will find the new Tree of Voices growing near the new Hometree," Jake's eyes never lost their intense focus, but a small smile played at the corners of his mouth. "One more thing…" he gestured with his chin and Mo'at followed him a short distance away.

Everyone wanted to know what he was saying, but stayed where they were, for it was obviously a private message for Mo'at. As they watched, the Tsahik's ears went straight up in utter shock, but as Jake continued to murmur softly in her ear, Mo'at's eyes closed, tears streaming down her face even as she brought her hands to cover her mouth. Jake smiled softly and laid a gentle hand on her trembling shoulder.

When he turned back to the crowd, they could see the intense focus had gone from Jake's eyes, but he retained a commanding air as he said, "Go. Mount up. Take nothing with you this first trip, but what you can carry easily. We do not know how far our new home is."

Everyone who was able to ride scrambled to fulfill the Olo'ektan's commands. Soon they were ready to depart. They flew for nearly a day before they found the tree. It was as Tsahik Mo'at had said. A pair of ikran were flying in the mating dance above the tree and at the base was a large herd of yerik. The hunters at once began their work and soon the beasts were ready for the cooks, who quickly went to their trade. Those who were not needed to begin the work, went back to ferry those who could not ride and all their possessions.

As soon as everyone was settled into the work of moving into New Hometree, Jake contacted Norm via his throat radio. "Hey, Norm. How are things on your end?"

"Oh, about as well as can be expected. All the avatar drivers are on board with us one hundred percent as well as the few staff that took a stand. However, most of the base is shut down to save power and because we just don't have the people to run it anyway. As soon as we get everything settled down a little we're going to start dismantling all the factories and mining ops," the scientist's voice replied, sounding dead tired and about a decade older.

Jake winced to hear the change in his friend's voice. "Take care of yourself, man. I need you out here too. Once we get settled, I'll be flying your avatar out here myself. In the meantime, get some sleep. Those factories aren't going anywhere."

Norm chuckled. "Will do, chief. I'll let you know if anything happens. Goodnight."

Jake smirked. "Good. Over and out."

Norm ran a hand down his face, sighing. He was exhausted. Now that the RDA was gone, the full impact of what he and the others had done was starting to sink in. As Grace's protégé and the avatar driver with the best relationship with the Na'vi, he found himself the de facto leader of the humans at Hell's Gate and that responsibility was weighing pretty heavy on his shoulders right now. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. You're not in this alone you know. None of us are. We all knew it was probably signing our own death warrants to side with the Na'vi, but we chose to do it. We chose to stand up for what's right for once in our lives. We're all in this together, Norm and we've all got your back," Max said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Norm gave him a wane smile. "Thanks, man. I needed that."

Max nodded. "Yes, and you also need some sleep. Come on. Everything will still be here in the morning."

Norm nodded and slowly made his way to his quarters.