Chapter 1 Down the Yautja hole
Echo awoke in suspension; looking around she found herself amongst a collection of branches and leaves.
"Crraap!" she hissed having heard stories amongst the Youkai about a race of hunter aliens and game preserves where they drop off and hunt various creatures. She looked around and while catching her breath took in the scenery. It looked enough like earth but the green of the leaves appeared to have a bluish tint to them while the bark looked slightly dead and blackened. The sky was a pastel pink rather than blue and there wasn't a sign of life anywhere: no birds, no small mammals, no bugs, nothing.
She had been snatched while hiding out in the human world. The demons had been battling for control over their world and Echo didn't quite feel like joining in on the fun. She had actually just killed a challenging cat demon when a flash of light knocked her unconscious. Now she was on, no doubt, a strange planet soon to be hunted for game.
Being a demon she used her claws and parched herself on a branch awaiting the impending battle. She might not be able to make it out of here alive but she was going to prove herself to be more formidable a foe then the humans they tended to hunt.
Rue-n' and two age mates were on what was meant to be an ordinary hunting mission. They had just finished off the sixteen or so humans they shipped out to the planet to hunt, and were loading their various trophies into the ship. Seemingly out of nowhere three much larger, violent, enemy Yautja appeared and launched their attack on Rue-n' and his comrades. Making the hunters become the hunted.
Echo sat on the branch a small black velvet bag with a red ribbon around the crown resting in her hands. She gingerly searches through it and selects a matching pair of small amber gems. Pulling them out, Echo closes the bag, and replaces it in her shirt. She wore a white shoulder less top complete with poufy sleeves tucked just below the breasts into a black corset. Black leggings enclosed knee down by tall boots of the same color, lay under a half skirt of violet which hung gently behind her; the top wrapped around her waist covering the base of her corset. Echo stood and tossed the charms into the air earning a small poof and two skeleton birds in their place. The demoness waved her hand sending the birds off in opposite directions.
Through the bird's eyes she is able to see for a moment her foe. The enemy Yautja, however soon spots the skeletonized bird and obliterates it with his blaster. The other bird lands on a branch; it watches as a trio of Yautja standoff against a pair of much larger nastier looking aliens. One is destroyed along with the bird behind it as the other two make an attempt to flee.
Before long the two fleeing yautja come across the tree Echo had perched herself upon. They paused momentary. One bleeding badly leaking what appears to be glowing green blood. The rest was short lived; however, since one of the two yautja had followed them to the clearing and now held a shrunken at the ready.
Reaching in her bag again Echo drew out a red gem, larger in size then the yellow ones used to summon the birds. She drops it between the opposing forces below her and draws out a large flat black one holding it in her palm.
The Yautja throws the shrunken at the pair. Before the deadly blade makes contact with the duo, the red gem makes a pop and there stands a decaying human. A zombie, which begins to stumble towards the assaulting alien surprising him for a split second.
Quickly the girl jumps down and tosses the black crystal at the enemy. Out of this rock appears a large vicious looking ogre. The ogre lifts his massive club, inlayed with various nasty nail like spikes many covered in what appeared to be blood, and strikes at the Yautja through the lifeless human. The alien male just manages to jump back quickly enough to escape a fatal blow. However the uninjured Yautja, supporting his comrade behind the girl, was quicker. As soon as an opening was presented he used his shoulder cannon to blast a deadly hole through the foe, and the creature falls to the ground.
Both creatures reverted to their crystalline vessels and are gathered by Echo before she turns to the remaining Yautja. Once she turns, however, she finds herself confronted by a set of three of lasers from the uninjured Alien. The two study each other for several minutes before the female speaks.
"How many are there?" she asks the uninjured male whose face, like his partner, was held in secrete behind a silver metallic mask reveling no emotion to the demon girl.
He holds up one clawed finger before shifting his comrade's body; the lasers vanish.
Echo nods and turns in the direction where the first skeleton bird spotted the enemy; she begins walking without a word to her alleys in a silent communication 'Stay if you want, but I'm going, and I'm killing it!' She keeps crimson eyes alert, pointed ears searching for any sign of their enemy.
After a moment's lapse the duos follow her, knowing from their hunts not to split up, especially when one of them is injured.
As they follow behind Rue-n' studies the strange female. She wasn't tiny… more flesh on her from added curves that the Yautja found himself watching as she walked, hips swaying body alert but strangely calm. Come to think of it she hadn't blinked when he threatened her, nor when the other Alien stood before her dwarfing her by several feet. Was she unafraid? Maybe she was just better at hiding it.
He shook the irritating and useless thoughts off as he continued to observe the strange woman. She had dark hair cut short, perhaps out of ease, topped with small horns, slightly darker then her hair. What use could they serve? Surely not defense, they were too small to do any real damage. Rue-n' forced himself to focus on the task at hand; he had already lost one friend. This reminded him of his other comrade leaning against him, breathing rigid.
They had taken out one enemy at the loss of a comrade and the second found himself injured, badly. Rue-n' sported one or two cuts but nothing to hinder him; his friend was the one he had to worry about. Rick-ion had sacrificed himself so the injured two could escape and Rue, although knowing it was irrational, dragged Sol'on, his injured friend along with him. Rick-ion sacrificed himself so they can escape and leaving the wounded yautja to die would be an insult to his memory.
The demon glanced back at the alien pair taking them in. They were easily seven feet tall much taller than her 5'2" form, and were covered head to toe in armor and what appeared to be fishnet. They had masks of course, and Echo found herself wondering what they could be hiding.
In her moment of distraction a shot rang out and a thrill of shock was drawn from the uninjured Yautja behind her, then one followed filled with sorrow.
Before them stood the last remaining enemy, large and menacing his wrist blades out and ready to mutilate their corpses.
Behind her Echo heard the Alien rest the now dead Yautja on the ground a spear head imbedded in the creature's chest.
The enemy removes his mask revealing his alien face, dark eyes full of murderous intent; large tusks flaring in an intimidating and aggressive manner. Echo, having been use to all sorts of odd looking creatures remains undistracted and readies herself for a battle. However, a large clawed hand moves her out of the way, it was her ally. He too had removed his mask, his mandibles returning the hostile gesture.
Echo watched as her comrade lunged at the enemy Yautja. The two squared off levels of aggression varying. The alien male's shifted around each other before launching into a full out battle. Blades striking each other with force enough to kill. She found herself nervous for the safety of the alien man she had barely just met, flinching every time a hit was landed on either end. She looks back mournfully at the other Yautja, already dead, can't be helped.
A thud sounds nearby and with tense expectation she looks in the direction of the fallen male. Nearly five feet from her a body lay, chest heaving, and body covered with the same shimmering jade liquor as the other male shed before the spear head ended his life.
Echo emits a sigh of relief once she realizes the body was that of the enemy. However that reprieve was short lived as she turns and races her former ally blades raised at her. 'Again?' she thinks. The threat didn't last as the male, quivering with the effort of standing, falls to his knees with a small whimper.
The demon rolls her eyes and makes her way, with measured steps, to the semi conscious alien. He was injured, a large gash in his upper right arm the most daunting, but appeared to be mostly exhausted from the battle and who knows what before that.
The Alien growls ineffectively at the encroaching female, who remains steadfast in her decision to help him, she knelt before him once close enough and tears a few pieces of her skirt using some of them to clean some blood in order to find his wounds while the others she uses to bandage his injuries. After a while the male seamed to relax breathing becoming even and calm and even purring when she would rub against certain places. However when she brushed against some that appeared more sensitive than others he would growl, hiss, or click something in his language at her. Only once, though did he raise his hand to her, when she brushed against a wound on his thigh she hadn't known about. Apologizing she spent a few minutes stroking his chest and shoulders to calm him. She was right, the gash on his arm was the most serious, it would scar, but he would live, the rest would heal without her help.
'What is with this woman?' Rue-n' yells in his mind as he watches her move towards him. She has no weapon he could see, but he was injured and vulnerable and didn't want her near him. But still she came and once she was near enough she knelt down and tore her clothes. He watched her as her small hands began to rub the clothing against him cleaning his wounds. He found himself purring in appreciation when she touched places he liked. He liked to have his chest and shoulders caressed by her small soft hands and his stomach too… However when she brushed against a wound he had received while trying to escape with Sol'on he had tried to strike her, to push her away. Instantly he felt badly about it, she didn't know, but it hurt. He wasn't complaining, though, when she tried to apologize by stroking his shoulders and chest, he purred at her though letting her know he forgave her.
And come nightfall Rue-n' was fully bandaged and resting peacefully against Echo who had sat herself against a tree and held him nestled against her chest brushing her hands up and down his chest lazily. The demon's creatures found no further threats lurking on the alien planet, but that didn't mean they were safe.