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We made to leave then - in order to return to the new Omatikaya Hometree and report to Jake with what we had found here - but as we turned to head out of the old catacomb my beloved spotted something out of the corner of her eye. ~Wait a minute, David! What's that?~ she said. Turning around, Ieesha carefully balanced herself on three legs, such that she could point with a forepaw to something on the ground. Wondering what she was referring to, I turned back towards her, to look where she was pointing and soon I saw it. From where the ancient missile's nose piece had impacted, and buried itself in the ground, a luminous phosphor-green coloured substance welled up and oozed slowly out to cover the ground as well as a few bones of the Na'vi skeleton. 'What is that?' I wondered. 'It can't be waste from the missile, can it?'

Pulling my Field Medical Kit from a compartment of my Encounter Suit, I swiftly opened it and extracted from it a small, empty vial, with which I carefully collected a sample of the strange liquid. Then as Ieesha looked on - her curiosity burning within my thoughts - I analyzed the sample with my Medical Bio-Scanner, before locking it within a Micro-Stasis Cell and packing it away for further analysis at a later time. With that done, I packed away the equipment and Medical Kit then stood up to face Ieesha. ~Well?~ she said. ~Come on, love, don't keep a dragoness in suspense! What is it?~ After carefully sifting through the data in my head that I'd received from the Scanner - data that was being stored within the Dragon Weyr's Archives even as I thought - I answered, "Well, I can tell you what it isn't: radioactive waste; it's not something leaking from the missile, thank goodness."

At this, Ieesha sagged on her four feet for a moment, a sigh of relief escaping her. However, When she straightened up to affix her gaze upon me again her eyes narrowed as she asked ~Well, if it's not waste from the missile, sweet David, then... what is it?~ At her question, again, I thought for a moment, before I answered, "I think it's some kind of blood!" We headed out of the cave then - our group of Probes following behind us - and as we walked Ieesha replied ~Blood? What makes you think that?~ Soon, we emerged from the subterranean catacomb and then, as we began to head back to the new Omatikaya Kelutral I answered, "We have iron and copper-based cells in our blood, Ieesha and this sample has an equivalent: chlorophyll.

It's full of chlorophyll-like cells, suspended in a plasma as our blood cells are. Along with those cells, there appear to be the equivalent of leukocytes - an immune system - and platelets responsible for coagulation." Upon hearing this, suddenly, Ieesha stopped and turned to look at me, her lower jaw dropped and her eyes wide with sudden realization. ~It's Eywa's blood...~ she murmured. "I'm sorry, what?" I replied. My beloved blinked, and then, a moment later - as she closed her jaw with an audible click - she repeated ~It's Eywa's blood, David; the blood of this world! By Trag'Oul's Black Wings... Jake is going to be pissed! And what of the wound itself? Can we heal it? If that missile's burrowed into the equivalent of a major artery...~

"Whoa, hold everything!" I said, raising my hands in a placating manner as I felt her immense worry thickly in my thoughts. "As of now the missile's acting somewhat like a plug, and it's been there for a very long time, so I doubt things are going to change any time soon!" I continued once Ieesha had settled. "So... we report back to Jake, tell him what we've found, and then, if he gives us the go-ahead we'll see about removing that missile safely and responsibly. After that, we deal with the remains of the Na'vi there, too, and see if we can find his possessions. Then, we'll worry about the wound in the planet. First, though, we need to get back to new Hometree. Don't you worry, Ieesha; everything's going to be fine."

When her worry faded into calm - sighing through her nose - my beloved Lifemate shook her head in a horse-like manner as she softly replied, ~I hope so, sweet David, I hope so...~ By the time I, Ieesha and the group of six Probes returned to the new Omatikaya Hometree it was late in the day; the sun was setting and the shadows were growing longer. As we turned to head into the base of the mighty tree and then ascend the natural spiral staircase within to the 'commons' level where Jake Sully and the rest of the Omatikaya were waiting for us - "Oof!" - suddenly, I was set upon by a large, heavy, and very solid black shadow! Said shadow was in fact my loyal Nantang friend, Falkor, and as he stood atop me - pinning me against the soft grass sprouting from the ground - he stared down at me with a baleful gaze, his emerald-green eyes narrowed, a growl escaping his throat; he was pissed!

"Aw, come on, Falkor, don't be like that!" I pleaded, even as I struggled futilely to free myself from beneath him. "I forbade you and Miracle from coming with us to old Kelutral because it was too dangerous; if we'd been going anywhere else, then of course you both could've come with me! Can you please, please let me up? I'll give you a nice, juicy Yerik bone! Please...?" For a moment, my beloved animal friend did nothing - he continued to stare down at me, growling softly - but then, finally, he relented and released me. No sooner had he done this than we were accosted by Miracle, the Ikran having been gliding overhead. As he landed, nuzzled Ieesha in greeting than charged over to me to hug me as I sat there upon the ground, I couldn't help it; tears welled up in my eyes and I leaned into the white forepaw and wing he wrapped about my body.

"I'm sorry Miracle; I'll never leave you, or Falkor behind again; not if I can help it. Okay?" I whispered. At my words, my Ikran Son softly nuzzled me - licking away my tears - before he released me from his embrace, then stepped back and started to chirrup softly in his species native tongue. ~Know why, Papa~ Ieesha helpfully translated as he spoke. ~Evil thing there. Might be hurt. Might be killed. Would be bad; you miss.~ At his words, chuckling softly, I wrapped my arms about his neck, returning his embrace. "I would" I replied quietly, looking at Ieesha, than at him, and finally at Falkor. "I would miss all of you, if any of you were hurt, or killed, because I was irresponsible. That's why I had you stay here today, and why you'll probably have to stay here with Jake and the others tomorrow, too."

At this, both Falkor and Miracle whimpered softly, their ears drooping as they lowered their heads, giving me the most forlorn expressions I'd ever seen, complete with pleading 'puppy-dog' eyes! I, however, was wise to their tricks; both had tried this many, many times before in order to get a bit of extra food after I'd fed them, for example, or to avoid punishment for wrongdoings. "Come on, fellahs, you know that doesn't work on me..." I said in a half-amused, half-warning tone. Rather than heed my tone, however, the two rascals merely intensified their forlorn expressions. 'No!' I thought. 'Must... resist... puppy-dog eyes...' But I couldn't, not really. Without hesitation, I embraced my two animal friends; they in turn licked my face and nuzzled all over me. Soon, Falkor and Miracle backed off, at which point I was able to get to my feet.

Then, once I was standing, my two Pandoran animal friends happily followed behind Ieesha and I as we made a stop in at our field tent which we'd set up - with Jake Sully's permission - near the base of Hometree. There, we swiftly removed our Encounter Suits, whereupon we had the Dragon Weyr shift them away to be thoroughly washed and scrubbed of radiation. With that done, Ieesha and I dressed casually; she wore the simple and comfortable lightweight underblanket over which she normally wore her Templar Robe, along with her Argus Helm and Shielding Collar. I, on the other hand chose to wear casual human clothing; a pair of khaki cargo shorts and my armored shirt along with my Forearm Computer and Utility Belt.

With that done, I, Ieesha, my animal friends and the Probes from the Dragon Weyr all headed into Hometree whereupon we ascended the natural spiral staircase within to the 'ground floor' that served as the village commons. Here we observed not only the People of the Omatikaya as they went about their daily lives, but also Olo'eyktan Jake Sully whom was talking with a group of Hunters of an upcoming hunt for Talioang. Not too far away, Neytiri stood within careful earshot, talking happily with three of her female friends as they admired a piece of wonderfully crafted jewelry that one of the female Na'vi possessed. When I, Ieesha, and my entourage of animals and machines came within view, however, all seemed to grind to a halt as Jake Sully ceased talking to the hunters and turned to affix me with a grave gaze.

"Ah, you return! What do you have to report, Zealot?" He asked. At Jake's question, tension filled my body and I turned to affix Ieesha with a look of panic, asking her via our bond, 'Must I tell him what we found, love? He, Neytiri and the Clan will freak!' My beloved nodded, her wordless expression answer enough; there was no help but to tell the truth and so - heaving a weary sigh - I turned back to face Jake, girded up my loins, and told it. Slowly, hesitantly - my words thick and heavy in my throat, like gravel - I told Jake everything. I told him of my thoughts of the RDA; of my beloved's suspicion that radiation might be the reason why Eywa could not heal the land, and of Ieesha's theory that a few extra missiles had been added to stockpiles when they shouldn't have been.

I spoke of my thoughts regarding censorship of this, and told Jake of Little One; her discovery of the radiation source. Finally, I told Jake of the terrible discovery we had made - the ancient, undetonated nuclear missile - something which had only served to confirm my beloved's theory. Additionally, I spoke to Jake of the skeleton trapped beneath said missile; the Na'vi whom could never find peace with Eywa so long as the missile remained there. When I finished my explanation, Jake - sky-pale and trembling with suppressed emotion - softly excused himself and then, as Neytiri looked on in concern, he gestured for us to follow him before he strode away to the private alcove within new Hometree that he and Neytiri shared.

Upon reaching said alcove, we all headed inside... and then, dear readers... that was when Jake finally lost control of himself. He turned to face us all, his face flushed, and his hands outthrust with fingers opening and shutting in abandonment of temper. Then, suddenly, before Ieesha or my animal friends could react - as Neytiri looked on, a gasp of horror escaping her - Jake shoved me roughly against one of the alcove's walls. "You," he whispered, his golden eyes narrowing to hardened chips of ice. He made to continue then, but he could not; the words could not escape him for he was too choked with rage. Soon, however, he regained a semblance of control and continued to speak, his words hissing from between tightly clenched lips.

"You will contact your living kelku, Txra'kon We'er. You will tell him to search through his tìomum and 'okrol. When he does, I want everything - do you hear me? - every damn scrap of knowledge about the Great War he possesses, because I want to know how in the ever-loving mother of fuck the RDA was able to get a hold of a FUCKING NUCLEAR MISSILE!" Those words - howled from his throat like the horrid cry of a Banshee - were so loud that I barely heard the final words proceeding them. "You will do this; I will know." Immediately, I nodded. "I will," I replied, "as soon as I'm able, and anything I can find, you'll get." He released me, then, a shuddering sigh escaping him as he moved away to lean against the opposite wall, resting his head in his hands, his whole body shaking.