Chapter One: Breath To Fight


"There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematician that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one."

-G.K. Chesterton


/ A warning to the people / The good and the evil /

/ This Is War /

/ To the soldier, the civillian / The martyr, the victim /

/ This Is War /


Alone.

She was alone.

So alone.

He was gone. Dragged away by those... things.

I'm sorry.

Was she next? Would they come back for her?

Hunted.

Drag her off too to god knows where? Like him?

I'm so sorry.

Sebastian.

He was dead, or as good as.

I'm going to die...

No.

She would not give up. Never.

The hunter.

Maybe...

The enemy...

Could she really trust it?

The enemy...

She had to try.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.


/To the right, to the left / We will fight to the death

/ To the Edge of the Earth /

/ It's a brave new world / From the last to the first /


Lex walked as softly as her worn body would allow throughout the winding maze that was the pyramid. She had no idea where she was going, only that she had to keep moving.

She had to find the hunter.

But she had to find the right one. Lex guessed that each gun belonged to a different hunter. That particular hunter had followed them for a reason.

They had his gun.

At least Lex hoped so.

As she slowly traveled on, Lex went over in her head of all she knew of the creatures.

The black ones have acid blood. Best to avoid that. I didn't see any eyes, but they have to have another way to see. Echolocation? Maybe.

She pondered.

What about the hunters? They're smart. They have technology. Really advanced technology. I didn't get to see much of that one's face, but he definitely wasn't human. Wait, was he even a he? Sure is built like one. Sebastian said this was a right of passage for them. Boy's becoming men. Doesn't that mean they're teenagers? God, I'd hate to meet a full grown one if they are.

Lex mind began to drift from the monsters to the people who'd been slaughtered by them.

Was there anyone left? Was she the lone surviver among the dozens of men and women who had journeyed down into this hellhole?

She didn't know.

Part of her didn't want to know. Was it better to pretend that there were others out there? Others who might just survive this?

Or to know that they were all dead, and that her only companions in the depths of this misery were monsters themselves, one, a being of mindless slaughter, the others, creatures who stalked the fringes of nightmares, hunting for the simple thrill?

Lex clenched her fists and forced herself onward.

She needed to stop thinking like that. Shove those thoughts to the back of her mind and focus on surviving. On finding that hunter and giving his gun back. And pray that he didn't kill her.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Oh, how she hoped that was true.


/ It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie /

/ The moment to live and the moment to die /

/ The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight /


"No, no no no no no!" Yet as Lex frantically pounded on her flashlight, the instrument payed her no heed.

The woman gave a defeated sigh as the light went out completely.

"Great, just great."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she contemplated simply dropping the device, but the slim chance of it being useful stayed her. She stuffed it into her backpack, deciding she'd toss it if it slowed her down too much. Even the tiniest bit of weight could mean slower running if she was chased.

And Lex really, really didn't want to die. Not today.

Shrugging her backpack higher on her shoulders, she started off again, not really sure where she was going. Her wrist compass had been smashed and rendered useless at some point.

After a few more minutes of running, Lex found herself at a dead end.

"Shit." She hissed.

Turning around to backtrack, she froze in fear and shock. Blocking her exit was the predator she'd been in search of.

Her former confidence slowly fled her. Now faced with the creature, Lex found herself frozen with fear.

She swallowed thickly as the alien just stared at her. If only that damn mask wasn't in the way, she could get some idea of what he was thinking.

She couldn't help the flinch she gave when he extended the spear in his hand, making the weapon even more deadly.

Oh god, what was she thinking?

She was thinking she wanted to survive.

Lex narrowed her eyes, her resolve and will to live building in her gut and chest, chasing the fear away. She could do this. She would do this.

Lex leveled her gaze with the hunter, her eyes completely devoid of fear.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, she repeats in her head, over and over, like a mantra.

Slowly, Lex reached behind her and took off her backpack. The hunter watched her with a piercing gaze, following her movements like the predator he was.

Forcing every ounce of determination in her, Lex took out the gun and slid it across the floor to its owner.

The predator snatched the gun from the ground, quicker than she could really follow. His speed unnerved her. Something that big shouldn't be able to move so fast.

Watching him with baited breath, Lex waits for the hunter to do something. Either leave, kill her, or, god willing, actually help her.

Before any such thing could happen, a black shape emerged from behind the hunter, a creature of nightmares and fever dreams.

Lex opened her mouth to warn him, but the creature had already sprung. It landed on the hunter, knocking the gun from his grasp. The monstrosity clawed and bit at the hunter, trying with all its might to rip him apart.

As the two slammed to the ground, the hunter lost his grip on the spear, which went tumbling right by Lex.

Snarling with primal hysterics, the two battled, unaware of their terrified watcher.

The hunter managed to shift his legs beneath the serpent and force it off him. The creature slammed into a wall, momentarily dazed.

The shock didn't last long.

Its attention turned to the easiest prey in the room.

Lex.

With a shriek, the serpent leapt at her, jaws agape and claws poised to tear her to pieces.

Working on pure instinct alone, Lex reached beside her and gripped the hunter's spear in white knuckled hands. She lifted it up just as the serpent landed on her, impaling it in the stomach and stopping its decent.

The monster shrieked in pain as it thrashed on the weapon. Lex cried out, half sobbing, as the creature withered in pain before her.

She tried to lift the serpent away from her, but the beast's weight worked against her, bringing the serpent and its snapping jaws closer to her face.

Finally, slowly, its movement slowed, then cease all together.

Lex breathed a sigh of relief, but it's short lived as the serpent suddenly springs back to life, giving one last attempt to kill her, before finally falling limp. Truly dead.

Lex pushed the beast off of her, avoiding its acid blood.

She fell limply against the stone wall behind her, finally granted a breather.

She tensed as a trio of burning red lights traveled up her body to land on her forehead.

The hunter had mounted his gun, and was now pointing the weapon at her.

Well shit.

Then, suddenly, the dots leave her to land on something just behind her. That something made an ear piercing shriek as it was blown to bits by the cannon. Yeah, he had a fucking cannon. Not a gun.

Lex dove forward to avoid the blood. No way was she touching that stuff if she could help it. Leaping to her feet and spinning around, she watched in horror as four more serpents charged toward them, some climbing upside down on the walls. The freaking walls.

One by one, the hunter blasted them to bits with his cannon. The lead one, dressed in early green criss-crossed wounds, froze. It left out a shriek, causing its companions to pause as well.

Then, as one, the serpents turned and fled.

Where are they going? Were they freaked out by his cannon?

Pushing the thoughts to the side to evaluate for later, Lex turned to her newest problem.

That problem being the giant space alien currently staring her down.

Two two stared at each other for a few baited breaths, each lasting an eternity. The hunter moved first, leaning forward to study the woman more closely. Lex forced herself not to flinch back. She had to appear strong. If Sebastien was right, these creatures valued bravery above all else.

And by god, she would be brave.

The hunter turned abruptly, startling Lex by its suddenness. He was simply walking away, leaving her behind.

Rage erupted like a lit match dropped in gasoline at being so carelessly dismissed. She'd killed one of those mother fucking monsters herself, didn't she deserve a little respect from this creature?!

"Hey! Hey!" She yelled at his retreating back. Lex pushed her aching legs forward, hardly noticing the pain, to catch up with the hunter's long strides. Catching up to him, Lex grabbed his arm, determined to get his attention.

She did.

He spun around with a grown, his dread locks flying around him. Lex stopped abruptly, but held her ground.

"I'm coming with you." She declared with finality. "You hear me you ugly son of a bitch? I'm coming with you."

The hunter stared at her, emotionless behind his mask.

Determination and a burning hatred for the monster who killed all those people, people she'd sworn to protect, burned like hell's fire and righteous anger in her eyes.

All fear gone, long dropped into the boiler of her heart and roasted into rage, she extended her hand. A simple gesture, neither quite knowing what for, but both sure it was the right thing to do.

Palm up, Lex waited for the hunter to respond. A few pounding heartbeats later, he pulled a knife from his belt, dropping it in Lex's hand. The woman closed her hand tightly around it, determined to hold onto this gift.

Reaching again to his endless arsenal of weapons, the hunter pulled out another knife, this longer and even more deadly. Kneeling beside the slain alien beside the wall, he ripped the spear from its body, placing it gently to the side, then went about dismembering the corpse.

He worked with speed and precision only an experienced hunter possessed as he worked to remove the domed head of the serpent without spilling acid blood.

"What are you doing?" Lex asked, kneeling beside the hunter.

He ignored her, simply continued to clean to kill. The hunter gently set the removed dome to the side, revealing a twitching blade beneath.

He carefully traced the organ with his knife. Lex's brows furrowed in confusion at what he was doing.

Suddenly, the hunter pressed down, just gently enough not to break the membrane, causing the inter mouth to snap out.

Lex flinched, nearly falling back on her rear. She pressed a hand against her heart, trying to still the pounding organ.

An odd sound echoed around her. She glanced at the hunter. His shoulders were shaking as the hiccuping chuff escaped his deep chest.

He was laughing.

Lex gave a strained smile, pulled taunt with nerves and annoyance. Yet it was kind of funny.

Well, really the fact he had a sense of humor was funny. Even if it was absolutly morbid. But what else did she expect?

"But really, what are you doing?' Lex asked, finally feeling comfortable enough to kneel beside him once more.

If he pulled another trick like that, she could always punch him. Even if that might get her head ripped off.

The hunter eyed her, then used his knife to swipe up some of the acid blood. Oddly, it didn't effect the knife. Yet when he tilted it to let the green-yellow liquid to drip, it sizzled and burned right through the floor.

Scooping up a bit more acid, he let it dribble into the removed head. It did nothing against the ebony hide.

He tilted his head at her, as if to say "get it?"

Lex nodded. The hunter picked up the dome and handed it to her, adjusting it to cover her left arm. Like a shield.

The hunter then knelt once more, this time beside the tail of the alien. He lifted up the end of the whip like appendage and sliced the end clean off. Rising once more, he snatched a wood staff that clung to the side of the wall, tied the tail to it with rope he'd taken from somewhere on his person, and handed the makeshift spear to Lex.

She took the spear, testing the grip. This will do.

Slipping the knife into her belt, Lex nodded to the hunter that she was ready. Together, they left the blood soaked room, headed to god knows what.

But one thing was for certain.

Death awaited.

And they wouldn't go out without a fight.


/ I do believe in the light / Raise your hands into the sky /

/ The fight is done / The war is won / Lift your hands toward the sun /

/ The war is won /


Translations and Terms:

None

A.N. I'm contemplating wether or not to do a time skip to the aftermath of Lex and Scar's battle against the queen, or to account everything between the end of this chapter and the fight. Let me know what you think. Write scenes we've already witnessed, but with slight alterations, or go on to the new stuff?

Disclaimer: I don't own AvP or 30 Seconds To Mar 'This Is War'.