He cuts Tsu Te's queue off near the base... scalping him. Tsu Te screams in agony, his nervous system exploding on overload. Lyle holds up the hair... Tsu Te's only connection to the world-consciousness which is his life's blood.
Lyle hears a chilling roar and a splintering crash. He looks around in time to see a blurred black shape leap toward him in an explosion of foliage.
Zuleika's manticore is on him in one bound. It grips him, and the stinging tail rises up. With blinding speed it strikes over and down. K-CRACK! Right through the bubble canopy. Lyle is skewered, pinned to the back of his cockpit. The venom goes through him, locking all his muscles in agonizing contraction. Zuleika drops him. She looks down at Tsu Te who, mercifully, is dead.
Zuleika hears firing nearby. She charges forward to meet the alien enemy. On a collision course with--
QUARITCH, in his powersuit, moving relentlessly through the jungle. His hydraulic boots clomp past the bodies of Na'vi direhorses, a bansheeray.
He sees something through the dense foliage. Moves to get a better look. It is the SHACK. He is in the Na'vi stronghold. The defenders are dead. Quaritch closes in on the shack.
INSIDE THE SHACK Josh is tranced out, under the link. Through a window we see Quaritch's powersuit step into the clearing outside.
QUARITCH levels his GAU 90 at the shack-- His finger goes to the firing button-- WHAM!! A six-legged black demon tackles him. Quaritch pivots as he falls, firing the cannon. It misses Zuleika by inches. He grapples with the manticore, keeping its mantis forelimbs from locking onto him.
The two titans twist and struggle. Zuleika strikes with the tail. CRACK! It pierces the canopy but misses Quaritch. He grabs a quick breath, holding it before the Pandoran air comes in.
Quaritch slams the manticore back against a treetrunk, almost crushing Zuleika. Then he twists violently, hurling the manticore off. It lands, twisting back on itself almost like a snake-- Zuleika gathers for a leap as-- Quaritch raises the gatling gun and-- The manticore launches at him and-- P-P-P-POOM!! The GAU 90 rips into its belly. Quaritch holds the trigger down, drilling hundreds of round into the thing, all the way up its chest to the fearsome head.
The manticore slumps to the ground, pinning Zuleika's legs under its great bulk. She is trapped.
Quaritch grabs his breathing mask and takes a gulp of air. Then he looks down at Zuleika. He aims the cannon at her, but when he fires it rotates harmlessly, empty. He steps toward her and--
A figure drops from a limb above, between him and Zuleika. It is Josh.
The renegade avatar charges straight at the powersuit, which towers over him. In hand to hand combat Josh and Quaritch fight to the death.
It is a knockdown drag-out fight. Josh has the speed and agility, but Quaritch has the power, and he moves well in the suit. Josh is pummeled. At one point the battle takes them near the shack. Josh swings a log like a club, knocking Quaritch back. The powersuit crashes against the shack, shaking it violently. Inside, Human Josh is jarred so hard the link is momentarily broken. Josh/Avatar drops like a puppet with the strings cut.
Human Josh pulls the headset back down and re-establishes the link. The avatar rolls away just as a hydraulic boot slams down. He springs to his feet only to duck a pile- driver punch.
Zuleika struggles to free herself from beneath the manticore's body. Josh and Quaritch grapple, and the powersuit finally pins Josh against a rock. Quaritch pulls back his arm for a crushing blow-- Zuleika leaps into shot, grabbing the arm-- Josh's hand flashes up, hitting the rescue-release-- The canopy pops and Josh forces it open-- He hits the power switch and the suit goes dead.
One powerful avatar arm grabs Quaritch and yanks him out like a soft oyster from a shell. Quaritch stares at him through his breathing mask. Waiting for the killing blow.
But Josh just cocks his head. Listening. He hears something in the forest nearby.
He sets Quaritch down, and the SECFOR commander staggers back. Josh motions for him to go. And Quaritch runs. He crashes through the foliage like the demons of Hell are after him.
Which, unfortunately, they are. Quaritch sees the viperwolves flowing from shadow to shadow behind him, around him. Two come out onto the trail ahead of him. The circle closes in. The viperwolves bare their glass-like distending fangs. Hideous hyena laughter, then a blur of motion.
Josh and Zuleika hear the scream through the trees. Then silence, except for the normal sounds of the forest. They hug each other. The battle is over. They have won.
AT HELL'S GATE the avatars have secured the base and established control. They stand guard with weapons as the human survivors of the battle are marched onto the shuttle.
HUMAN JOSH watches as Selfridge and his whole corrupt outfit board the shuttle.
Josh has given as edict: The base is being closed. When the humans are all back on Prometheus the last shuttle will be destroyed so no-one can come back. Prometheus will go back to Earth.
So it is a time for goodbyes. And decisions. Josh has decided to stay, and so have several of the other controllers. Giese is leaving. And all the other humans are being told to leave. Thanks. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Marcia does her last downlink to Earth. Josh, on camera, tells whoever is watching that the natural defenses, the immune system, of Pandora will not allow humans to set foot here again. Just like the cold and flu counterviruses were created, a new virus will be created.
It will be a virus lethal to humans. An airborne hemorrhagic fever. A flesheating virus from Hell. If it gets back to Earth as a result of future expeditions here, the whole human race will die screaming. Pandora is off- limits for all time.
Marcia and Trudy hug Josh and head for the airfield. The shuttle takes off, its sun-bright lance of fire climbing into the evening sky.
NORMAN CHEESEMAN: There's not really a virus like that: is there?
JOSH: (with a little smile): It could happen.
NIGHT AT THE WELL OF SOULS. The willows glow softly. Hundreds of torches light the gathered congregation of clans. Mo'at stands at the central willow, in communion with Gaia. The Na'vi sit in their concentric rings, also connected.
The camera starts wide, seeing the hundreds of softly chanting figures in the great circle. It swoops in toward the center, until it is hovering... looking down at two figures lying on the ground.
Josh and his avatar lie head to head. Human Josh is wearing a mask, connected to a rebreather which is lying beside him. Both figures are still, with hands folded on their chests. The silken threads cover them both. They lie cocooned like moths.
We see Zuleika, Grace and N'deh standing near the bodies. At the edge of the inner circle, the other controllers sit, crosslegged, watching intently.
As the camera moves in Zuleika moves forward, kneeling next to Josh's human form. Now we see only Zuleika and the two Joshes. She gently removes the mask from the human Josh's face. He is not breathing. She bends and kisses him.
The camera drifts down past her, centering on Josh's avatar. Moving in to full close-up. Zuleika moves next to Josh's avatar. Her hand comes into frame, stroking his cheek.
TIGHTENING slowly to extreme closeup until--
His eyes open.
CUT TO BLACK.