Chapter 1: Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.

The sound of my metal sandals echoes through the halls of the residences as I made my way to our clan's main area. When I reached for the doors with our clan's symbol etched on it, they slid open automatically and allowed me access inside. I was hoping that no one was around or else I had to deal with the commotion of nonsense that the Young Bloods would be talking about. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky this time.

As soon as I stepped through, many Yautjas looked into my direction but only for a moment when they realized who it was that came through. They bowed their heads down and crossed one arm over their chests as a sign of respect. I didn't acknowledge them one bit, not even giving them a glance as I passed through the crowd. I wasn't in the best of moods at that time.

Normally, I would be still sleeping in my residence but an unknown call buzzed throughout my room early in the morning. I would have ignored it if the call didn't keep going and going for another 10 minutes. Finally, I had enough and ripped out of my fur sheets, stomping towards the small panel by the wall. I pressed the green button and as soon as the call went through and the screen showed an unknown Yautja, I roared into it with my mandibles and inner mouth wide open.

"Who dares call me at this time in the morning!?"

The Yautja before me flinched in fear for a moment before straightening himself out, shuffling in his spot before addressing me. His eyes never made contact with me and he was smart for doing so. If he did, there would be no stopping me from ripping his throat out when I found him.

"I apologize for the unexpected call but you have been summoned."

The anger I had before dulled a bit as surprise and curiosity got the best of me. Usually, since I'm a warrior of high rank, Blooded and all, someone even higher in position would have the audacity to summon me like this. And so early in the morning . . . it must have been important.

"Who summons me?"

"Lord Dau'jein."

My father? Why is he calling me at this time?

I sighed heavily, letting my mandibles go back into a relaxed position but I glared right back at the Yautja before me and made sure of something clear to him.

"Fine. I'll be there soon . . . But if you ever call me like this again, I will cut off your cock and let the prey in the jungle feed on your corpse."

The Yautja trembled in fear as he slowly bowed very low before turning off the call and the screen goes black. I growled in annoyance and walked towards the washing area to get myself cleaned up. It may be somewhat urgent but I took my time to get ready. I'm sure my father won't be too pleased but he woke me up at this time of the day so I had an excuse for making him wait.

Once my body was all cleaned up, I placed my chest armor on first that carried the Clan symbol on the side, covering my entire chest with metal. When that was done, I got my leg braces and wrist gauntlets on next, checking to see if they were tight enough. I grabbed the remainder of my weapons and placed my mask on the hook of my belt before taking off to the Clan's meeting room.

The walk wasn't far off since each clan on Yautja Prime had their own private building that included all the residences of each member along with a main area and meeting room. There were more areas that all clans can meet but this belonged to the Dark Blade Clan only.

At least I didn't have to deal with others that weren't exactly the best to socialize with.

But I wasn't entirely safe from the other members of my clan as one of the Blooded Yautja that was huddled in a corner with the others, came to my side and stopped me midway. I growled a little to give him a warning to not get any closer. He stopped but didn't back off from as he just started to rant, much to my annoyance.

"Well. Look who has decided to grace us with his presence. The Almighty Blood Assassin comes to us so early in the morning. Isn't it too early for you to be walking around among a bunch of nobodies as you claim we are."

I snarled back at him a little.

"Why don't you pick on someone you can actually win over? Cause you are that close to getting your head ripped out."

I spread my mandibles open a bit and snarl menacingly at him. He backed up a bit but kept eye contact with me. He was asking for a fight and I had better things to deal with that this low life that was in front of me. I went past him, trying my best to keep my anger down and all as I looked forward to reaching my designation that was the doors to the meeting room. But all that changed when the Blooded Yautja went too far.

"Go ahead and run off. You're nothing but a pathetic warrior who's cursed for not having a strong bloodline. Your mate has died because she was so weak. And your son . . ."

I whipped my head to the side and glared at him. I started to let out a long and deep growl that vibrated my whole chest and seeped into my arms and legs. My fists tightened so hard that my claws began to dig into me while the muscles in my legs contracted, ready to pounce at any slightest trigger that the Blooded Yautja in front of me would provide. But my mind was hoping to not come to that conclusion. His mandibles and inner mouth open into one that showed he was ready to say the one thing that would pauking (fucking) piss me off.

Don't you pauking (fucking) say it!

The Blooded Yautja grinned and before I could get a chance to tell him to keep his mouth shut, he roared it out so that everyone in the main area would hear.

"You just watched as he died right in front of your eyes and did nothing about it! You're just a waste to our clan. You . . . your mate . . . and your sons!"

When he said those words, the flood gates broke wide opened and all the rage that was building inside me was unleashed.

That's it!

Before anyone knew what was happening, I twisted my body and rushed straight at the Blooded Yautja, roaring with all the fury in me as my mandibles and inner mouth spread to as far as they could. I opened my arms wide out until I made the impact with the Yautja, hitting him hard like a boulder crashing into the ground.

Both of us fell the metal floor as the surrounding Yautja fled to avoid getting into the middle of the fight but the roars and cheers started up as soon as they knew a battle was going on. Yautjas always love to see something like this but purely for entertainment. But I didn't care. My only focus was tearing this Yautja apart that had insulted my deceased mate and son.

He's not going to get away with this. Not alive anyway . . .

I got on top of him and began to punch him right in the face several times. He tried his best to block them but I swatted them away with one hand while I let my other one give the crushing blows. When I got tired of this, I got back on my feet, picking him up by the throat in the process. As soon as I was fully standing up, I tightened my grip on his throat, watching as he began to cough and struggle to get any breath into his lungs. I wanted to see him suffer before I send him to Cetanu (God of Death). The crowds surrounding us roared even louder as they knew the end was near and it only pumped the blood in my body faster while it burned at the same time. My eyes stayed focused on his weak ones that were slowly closing as his struggles were getting less and less stronger. His hands started to slump down slowly and his head started to fall back as his eyes began to roll into his skull. I merely grinned at the sight.

Now, you will pay for your insults!

But just as I was about to make the final kill, the doors to the meeting room opened and a single Yautja comes walking through it. The crowd immediately becomes quiet and the roars could no longer be heard. I turned my head to look back at the single Yautja and I knew right away who it was that was coming. He came closer to me until stopping only a few feet from where we were. His hands were crossed and his eyes showed a mix of annoyance and disappointment. I eased my grip on the Blooded Yautja's throat but didn't drop him. I just shrugged back.

"Pu'uko."

He didn't answer me but his eyes told me all that I needed to know. He wasn't happy with this predicament but he didn't try to stop me. However, I lowered my eyes a bit but not because he was of higher rank than me. It was because he was my father's and our Clan Leader's second in command. I just didn't want him to go back to my father and tell him that I lost my temper again. It was becoming a daily routine ever since 'that time' and it wasn't fazing me too much but it still got to me no matter what. He just shook his head back and forth before speaking to me.

"What are you doing? Losing your temper again?"

I growled a little bit but kept it low enough that only Pu'uko can hear me.

"He insulted my mate and sons like they were trash. He deserved to die with no honor."

I was hoping that he would side with me this time but I just got the same reaction as all the other times before. He just lowered his head and shook back and forth as if he couldn't believe this happened again. He took a moment before he motioned me to follow him.

"Come on. The Clan Leader is waiting for you."

I bowed my head so he knew I got the message as he did the same. But I still had business to finish here. I turned my gaze back at the Blooded Yautja that was barely regaining consciousness . . . but not for long.

With a simple flick of my wrist, I snapped the Blooded Yautja's neck in two, feeling the bones crack from the pressure. His body slumps and dangles from my hand and his eyes rolled back into his head while his mandibles and inner mouth droop open, never to move again.

Pu'uko turns around and sees what I've done and scolds me with his eyes a bit. I puffed in annoyance and threw the dead Yautja across the main area, letting his body smash into the wall while the other Yautjas darted out of the way in time. Green, neon blood splattered all over as the body finally stops on the ground. I turned around and made my way to where Pu'uko was waiting by the doors of the meeting room. He kept staring at me and I just ignored it, looking forward as we passed. Pu'uko was the first to enter as I followed behind as we made out way into the meeting room.

It wasn't as big as the main area but contained a huge stretched out table with several chairs lined all over its sides. There were panels sitting near the walls where several Yautja were working on, probably communicating with other ships of ours that were out in the universe, looking for worthy prey or a new planet. I wasn't really into that stuff, only for hunting Bad Bloods and such was my specialty.

Pu'uko and I made our way past the huge table and made our way to the very back of the meeting room where the chair of the Clan Leader would be seated, overlooking the others if a meeting was being conducted. I looked ahead to see my father discussing with another Yautja that I've seen a couple of times before and may have heard of as well. He looked younger than me but the Blooded mark of our clan resting on his exposed stomach along with being painted on the side of his chest armor showed that he was a great warrior. When we got close enough for both of them to notice our presence, my father and the other Yautja turned their heads towards us and that is when I noticed he was missing an eye and that is when I knew who it was.

My father, with dreadlocks that have turned almost white from old age and body scarred on every surface of his skin, addresses both me and Pu'uko as we stopped and bowed our heads to him, crossing one arm over our chests.

"Everyone. Leave us."

Right on cue, all the Yautja that were present in the room scattered and headed for the exit. Even Pu'uko had left us, leaving only me, my father, and the other Yautja in the room as the doors closed behind us.

It was silence for quite some time until my father gets out of his chair and walks towards us with the other Yautja at tow. I remained where I am as they made their way to me until they were right in front of me. My father looks up and down at me before he begins his usual scolding.

"You lost your temper again didn't you?"

His eyes bore into my soul and instinctually, I lowered my gaze down a bit but my face was still visible to him so that he didn't think I was completely ignoring him.

"That Yautja insulted me and my family. He deserved what came to him."

"But doing so in front of everyone in the main area!? He may have said some things that should deserve that kind of punishment but you are better than that!"

The roar from my father echoed the whole meeting room and somehow reverberated into my very bones. I lowered my head even more so and remained there for some time. All I could hear was his heavy footsteps coming closer to me until I could feel his breath over my head.

"You are to be the next Leader of our clan. You need to behave more properly that what you did back there. Understand?"

He didn't roar this time since he was starting to calm down but the firmness in his voice assured me that he wasn't messing around. I bowed my head lower as a sign of respect.

"Yes, Lord Dau'jein."

I spoke out in the calmest manner that I could pull of despite the boiling rage that was simmering up again at the thought of the Blooded Yautja I've killed before. When I heard my father step back a bit, I lifted my head back up and met his gaze and the other Yautja that stood watching us. I straightened myself up a bit before speaking out to him.

"Why have I've been summoned at this time in the morning?"

My father moved a bit and cleared his voice. He then sighed heavily before answering my question.

"I will tell you but I want to formally introduce someone who knows what is going on. This here is Xen'ork but I'm sure you already know who he is."

I nodded. "Yes. You were the one who was exiled for letting the oomans take our technology for their own use. They called you 'Scarface' or 'New Way Devil' as I recall."

Xen'ork bowed his head in respect before looking back up.

"Yes. That is me but I've redeemed myself and I know to never make such a mistake ever again."

"I hope so."

The last remark I made was to test if he would lose his temper but to my surprise, he remains calm and stoic actually. All that I see him do was smirk at me as if he knew what I was going at with that remark. I just puffed at him and looked back at my father. He moves to stay between us as he raises a device in his hand. I looked at it curiously.

My son . . . Before I tell you the details, this must remain top secret from everyone. Some of the other clan members do not even know of this so I want you to vow that this doesn't get out and only tell those whom you trust."

I raised my head up to meet my father's gaze and watched as he gave me a look that he was serious about this. I was ready to make such a commitment since it must be of a high nature to remain a secret. Although I was still curious why this was kept secret, I knew that asking about it would end with me being scolded. I crossed my arm over my chest once more and bowed a little.

"I promise, Clan Leader."

I raised my head back up to meet his eyes and he bows a little. He turns to look at Xen'ork and he does the same as me, bowing his head and crossing his arm. Once we were all on the same page, my father looks back to me and turns on the device that lights up and a projection comes on.

I gazed into it for a moment, trying to understand what I was seeing until the projection become clear and all I saw were several oomans carrying weapons with them. Some had some strange armor on them but then I saw others that only wore some sort of white coat on them, surrounded by the other oomans with the weapons. I watched as they kept walking until reaching some sort of building surrounded by more oomans with the same outfits. The front ones reached the entrance and were saying something that I didn't understand, which made me feel frustrated.

Oomans and their weird tongues . . .

But then, the head ooman nods his head to the other and then moves out of the way as the doors to the building opens. The group of oomans from earlier went forward and through the threshold before the doors close, covering them from sight. I wanted to see more until the projection goes blank and I looked up to see my father had turned it off. I didn't know if he as expecting me to know the situation but I had no idea. In an act of curiosity or bravery, I asked him.

"What was that supposed to show me?"

My father puffed at me in disappointment and I lowered my gaze down once more. It was only when he sighed again did I had the nerve to raise my sight up once more.

"There have been rumors that several oomans have been experimenting with our DNA to create hybrids. Abominations to our great race."

My eyes widened in shock and anger. It made sense now. The projection that I saw earlier was probably the same oomans that my father was talking about just now and my blood began to boil.

How dare those oomans (humans) try and pull something like this!?

My father sensed that I wasn't taking the news very well and growled at me a bit. That snapped me out of it and I quickly composed myself until I was able to stare back at him. Xen'ork was also looking uneasy about all of this but I had to curse myself since he was acting more calmly than me.

"I assume you know what this means. We can't let the oomans have their way with this and that is where you come in."

"Me?"

I watched as my father moved his head up and down as a sign that means 'yes' without question. What part do I have in all of this?

"That's right. The Council of Ancients have caught wind of this and has given us this mission to destroy them and their work at all costs. Unfortunately, due to my age, I can't personally take this mission and I have the clan to take care of."

He shifts a bit before walking to me, stopping just as he got only a few inches in front of me. He raised one of his massive hands and placed it firmly on my shoulder, shaking it a little bit.

"That is why I'm leaving it to you to take care of. I'm sure that you will succeed without any complications."

My eyes widened in astonishment as the words of my father replayed itself in my mind.

He wants me to do this? Really?

In Yautja culture, to have your father let you take a mission that was of great importance was an honor. I didn't think he would choose me above all others to take care of something like this but I didn't pause to take his offer.

"I am honored to complete this mission for you Lord Dau'jein."

I crossed my arm once more and bowed even lower time, showing my gratitude for his trust in me. His grip on my shoulder seemed to tighten slightly but enough to tell me that he was proud of me or at least that is what I felt coming from it. I straightened myself back up to meet him and my father lets my shoulder go. He moves back a bit before looking at Xen'ork and then back to me.

"I want you to go straight away so I'm sending you with Xen'ork as your pilot since we need someone who knows about this. He'll support you on this mission in case it gets dangerous. But you must succeed. All of Yautja is counting on you."

I nodded at him. "I won't fail you, my lord."

He sighs and waves his hand for both me and Xen'ork to get going. We both bowed to him before turning back and heading towards the exit. I was just about to reach it when my father's voice called out from behind.

"My son . . ."

I stopped in my tracks and turned my head to the side, seeing him in the corner of my eye as he sat down on his chair and glanced at us.

"I regret what that Blooded Yautja said to you. Your mate and my grandson are greater warriors than him. They died with honor."

It was my father's futile attempt to get me to feel better but it only made things worse. True, my mate and son died well but the memories of my son's death were too painful to bear. I would try to keep it bottled up as much as I could but I wasn't the best at that, which was shown well during what happened in the main area. The anger inside of me was coming back again and I had to get out of here and into a ship before something worse happens.

I just stared back at my father and gave no response as I turned around and walked through as the doors opened. Not stopping, I walked off fast from the meeting room and through the main area with Xen'ork right behind me. All the Yautja from before stopped their chattering and kept their heads down until I passed right through them and into the long, metal hallway.

As we were walking, I've decided to ask Xen'ork some questions in regard to this mission so I motioned him to walk beside me and he did so without hesitation.

"So tell me . . . how much do you really know about this mission?"

Xen'ork bows slightly while we walked and spoke.

"Only as much as I needed to know. The oomans have taken some DNA from a previous hunter that had perished before them. So far, they haven't completed anything but with their intelligence, it's only a matter of time."

I looked at him for a moment, seeing no signs of deception in him. Although my father trusts him to go on the mission with me, I still had doubts considering his past failure that led to his exile from out clan until recently. However, I needed a pilot with me and if my father recommends him, then I have to endure this with him.

"Do you know their exact location on the ooman planet?"

He nodded. "Yes. It's somewhere deep in the middle of a forest so it will be a little harder to find them but once we do, we can hide the ship from prying eyes easily. I'll take care of that when we arrive there."

"Good . . ."

I gazed back in front of me as we were getting closer to the entrance of our clan's building that leads to the outside. But then, I heard some sort of chuckle coming from Xen'ork and I halted a bit to see what was going on with him.

"What is it?"

That made him chuckle all the more and I began to growl in annoyance. Xen'ork clears his throat a bit before speaking to me.

"At least we can bring back a few ooman skulls with us. They are such interesting but annoying creatures aren't they?"

I growled louder again and he just chuckled a bit before he composed himself once more. I didn't say any more to him as I began moving forward again until I reached the doors. They opened up just like the previous ones and both of us went through, ready to get the mission done and over with.

Little did I know that moment would be the start of something more that would change my life forever.

Hello everyone! :D

And early April Fool's! I know it was probably cruel of me but I forgot that was April Fool's Day so I decided to keep you guys waiting for the wrong date. But of course, I have to admit that I couldn't wait anymore either so here is the first chapter of Endurance. I'm still posting the other first chapters for Metamorphosis and Endurance as promised so don't worry. I'm not that cruel . . . ;)

So the main Yautja character is not put together as others might think and has a rough past and not treated well by his fellow hunters. But who is? Now, he has a mission to take on but what if it becomes more than it should. Will he find something unexpected?

Find out when Chapter 2 comes along! :)

P.S. I will be posting every other week for both Metamorphosis and Endurance each Friday night unless notified (first week: Metamorphosis; Next week: Endurance and etc.) Postings for Nexus will vary depending on the progress of Metamorphosis but will let all of you know when.

Enjoy!

Reading notes:

Normal = Human speaking English (ooman language)

Bold = Any Yautja speaking English (ooman language)

Bold and Italic = Any Yautja speaking Yautja language