Kiss of Midnight

by Mahi-Mahi

Deep under the ice of Bouvetøya Island, Lex finds her reason to survive.

2. Chapter 2

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.: CHAPTER 2 :.

o0o

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There was a certain duality to humans that was both fascinating and perturbing. They were at once incredibly fragile and yet remarkably resilient. They were never one or the other and, at times, it was difficult to pinpoint an exact medium in between with which to label them.

Scar loosened his grip around the small ooman female in his arms, satisfied that she would no longer create such a loud fuss in her sleep now that his purring had seemed to so easily placate her.

Such purring was usually meant to calm much larger and much more dangerous females down in their moments of rage or distress. However, used on such a tiny creature as she, it had nearly sent her comatose.

She seemed so frail it was pathetic, but even he could attest to the immense bravery and fortitude she had displayed during their time together. She had made many honorable kills.

Filled with admiration, he couldn't help but appreciate how marvelous she would have been as his prey had they met under different circumstances. A little shiver ran through him at the thought. Indeed, she would have made an excellent trophy that any yautja would desire mounted on his wall.

Oomans were highly sought after prizes amongst many yautja clans. They were unique prey and highly intelligent, so long as the proper type of ooman was chosen to be hunted. They were as violent as they were beautiful and their technology far surpassed that of any other yautja quarry throughout their quadrant of the galaxy. They were also only a few short centuries away from deep space travel, teetering on the very cusp of evolving into something greater and even more dangerous than they already were. Never had the yautja seen a species that evolved as fast and as cleverly as the humans. Even as time moved on and their ancient civilizations forgot the presence of the predatory aliens who had once taught them how to build and survive, the humans continued to develop regardless. They invented their own tools and technology that, over time, had progressed into what they were today. All in just a few meager centuries.

With such advanced weaponry, it made their species very dangerous to hunt, second only to the xenomorphs as prey. So long as one found a ooman worthy enough of hunting, their smooth skulls and unique weapons made admirable trophies.

His elder brother, always eager to begin a hunt, had slain all the oomans that had lingered at the surface when their group had split, despite Scar's opinion that they were far from worthy of the kill, let alone the energy. But Celtic had been itching for a warm up. Like usual, he'd taken it upon himself to stray from their objective and, unsurprisingly, Chopper had blindly followed their elder brother's lead.

By now, Scar was reluctant to admit his brother had been right in his decision to kill them, as having any more potential z'skvy-de incubators wandering the pyramid would only present further issue to the heavily botched chiva.

As Scar slid the small female from his chest and lowered her to the floor, he examined her curiously. She seemed so much more different from the others. He'd watched her lead the other oomans through the pyramid, calm and firm in her mannerisms, suppressing her fear in the moments where it truly counted while others merely screamed in useless panic.

Females were not something he normally hunted, particularly human females. But, indeed, she would have made for a spectacular hunt. He couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like stalking her through the jungles of her planet, scenting her fear and adrenaline pumping through the air.

The mere thought sent forth a deep rumble of delight from his chest.

However, the ache in his upper body reminded him all too well of the feeling of her tiny hand reaching inside him.

Trusting her with such a task had been a decision he was forced to make. He would have preferred to cleanse the hive and make it out of the pyramid in time to remove the abomination before it brought him any further dishonor. But he'd felt it growing more and more active inside him as time went on. It had been getting difficult for him to breathe comfortably as it grew larger. By the time he'd come across her he knew he had to act on it soon. He'd had no choice. To let it emerge from him would bring disgrace to not only him and his brothers, but to his clan as well.

Scar inwardly scolded himself. To think he'd been so careless as to let his guard down long enough to fall victim to such a rookie mistake. He'd only had two choices; either commit ritualistic suicide, or remove the creature himself.

He'd done the only thing he could. He'd chosen life in the hopes that he could somehow salvage this mess the humans had caused by taking their weapons and essentially triggering the Queen's awakening far too early.

Although the larva had been successfully pulled from his body, he was now left with a tremendous pain in his chest that would undoubtedly slow him down in battle.

Not for the first time, he thought back to the little female. Trusting her was his only option. Without her aid he would not have made it another hour with that xenomorph inside him. He would not be standing here at this moment, watching over her as she slept.

He remembered the way her teeth had attempted to tear into its neck to kill it, improvising in the most primal of ways when no weapon was available. Mistake that it was, she had clearly forgotten about the alien's corrosive blood. Even still, she had succeeded, lucking out when her teeth proved too blunt to break its skin, allowing its own hide to protect her mouth as she viciously ripped its throat out. She had snapped her thighs shut over his, shielding him from the acidic drops that would have burned him.

Crouched beside her, his clawed finger carefully reached out to her left thigh and delicately pulled back the torn fabric of her pants. Scar trilled at the sight of the wet, disfigured looking flesh, surrounded by burns that were swollen and red. All this time, she had such wounds and did not even bother to complain once?

His gaze moved to her hand, still gripped tightly around her spear. The burns had melted away some of the skin on the heel of her thumb, both on the top and underside of her palm. It marred her small hand, blistering her dark complexion around the puncture wound that the z'skvy-de inside him had inflicted. She was extremely fortunate to only receive such a tiny singe next to her lips. Had her teeth actually broken the skin of the xenomorph, her mouth would have been disfigured for life.

Looking at the full, lush shape of her lips, he oddly couldn't help but be glad it hadn't. It would have been a shame to spoil such softness, though he was not sure why. He was usually only able to appreciate things for their power and honor, not their frailty.

Scar's head tilted as his eyes began to study the delicate curves of her face, pondering over why she had fought so hard to protect him when he'd fallen unconscious. She could have run. She could have left him to the xenomorphs, taken his weapons and seized the opportunity to retreat to the surface where she would be safe. Yet she hadn't. She had proven to be as fiercely loyal as she was resilient and resourceful, yautja qualities that were as highly regarded as they were desired.

From under his mask, his eyes drifted over the distinct curves hidden beneath the layers of her thick thermal clothing – curves that were easy to recognize as purely female for her species. While her human scent was very alien and different than what he was accustomed to with yautja females, it was still very distinctly feminine.

Inhaling her scent, he found himself growling in satisfaction at the lack of any male stench on her…from the smell of her, she hadn't accepted a male in years. If this female was truly as fierce as she had thus proven herself to be, it was unsurprising that she would snub the hordes of pathetic oomans who would have undoubtedly tried to mate her. Most certainly they would have been far too weak for a specimen of her standing.

Scar couldn't stop the pleased rumble that worked itself from his chest at the clean scent of her, free of the stink of ooman males. Nor could he staunch the annoyed trill that left him at the mere idea of such undeserving males mounting a female such as she. Males like the ones that had surrounded her throughout the pyramid, of whom none of which had been worthy of hunting.

Although he understood very little of their dialect, it wasn't difficult to make out the body language shared amongst them when her back happened to be turned. Not to mention the odor of their pheromones that hinted at arousal when admiring her. He'd never bothered to care about the particulars of human mating rituals, but he did know that males were dominant over the smaller, weaker females. They were larger and more powerful than their fairer counterparts. It was an odd concept to a yautja, whose society was partly governed by females.

Scar had heard tails of oomans being excepted into yautja clan life and hunting alongside them as equals, even going so far as to breed with them. But most of those legends revolved around strong ooman males. A female warrior was something that was extremely rare amongst his kind, even rarer amongst her own as far as he could understand of their society.

Such a female would be a highly sought after prize and would undoubtedly inspire many bloody contests between yautja males to claim her.

He had to push aside the irritating thought of any other warriors catching her eye. He also had to ignore any notions of displaying his trophies before her to win her favor, dominating her to show her his strength and even...mating her. Strangely enough, it sent an irksome itch to tingle at the back of his neck.

Breed with a human?

He'd clearly been cooped up in this pyramid for too long.

Glancing down to her sleeping form, Scar suddenly found himself feeling uncharacteristically impatient. Normally he was very calm and collected, but with his body and mind eager to finish his chiva he began to grow restless. He resorted to pacing the length of the room, at once making sure to keep his senses on high alert as he worked the anxiousness out of his muscles.

He was beyond ready to get on with this hunt.

Without word from his brothers, he was left to the conclusion that they had met their demise here in the depths of the pyramid, unblooded and unable to complete their chiva. Here, in this place, he had been prevented from protecting them as he always had on their previous hunts together. This was something that had to be done on their own and clearly they'd failed.

While Scar had been the youngest and most solitary hunter of his brethren, he had continually proved to be the sole voice of logic and reason. Though Celtic had been the strongest and bravest of them, he had been cursed since birth with the temper of a mindless and raging beast.

Likewise, Chopper was equally reckless in his own right. He had been far too naïve and careless. He rarely paid any attention to his surroundings and had all the charisma of a newborn suckling. Scar had pampered him far too much in the past, repeatedly bailing him out of undesirable circumstances for the honor of their clan. As a result, Chopper had never learned the price of consequences. He'd evolved into a rather inattentive and oblivious hunter under the shelter of Scar's waning tolerance.

Perhaps if he had allowed him to taste the sting of true failure, Chopper would have focused more on becoming a proper hunter and less on imitating everything their elder brother did like a blind pup. Then again, even Scar knew if he had not offered such lenience, Chopper never would have made it this far in life.

Scar huffed in indignation, riled up now more than ever at the thought of his brothers falling to their own prey.

As if in answer to his restlessness, the pyramid shifted around him. The wall directly behind him folded into itself and opened up a passage that allowed his keen hearing to pick up on the enraged shriek of the Queen deep within the vaults of the monolith. Right away Scar could tell something was off about it.

Earlier in the hunt, when he'd first encountered the ooman female, his hearing had picked up on that same shrill cry as she called her children back to her side.

Scar stalked toward the passageway and strained to listen for another sound. It was then that he noticed a familiar dark form slithering out from the shadows at the end of the hall, catching his eye just as the pyramid's shifting finally came to a halt. Scar turned his head, tresses swinging with the motion as he leveled the alien with a predatory stare. His pulse raced with excitement at the sight of the gridded pattern carved into its glossy carapace. Larger and seemingly higher in intelligence than its sisters, this particular xenomorph had proven to be quite a challenge throughout the entirety of his chiva.

Scar growled in challenge and anger as he wondered which of his brothers it must have killed to have come away with such disfiguring wounds. The brief idea that this one xenomorph had quite possibly sent both Celtic and Chopper to their final rest entered his mind.

Rage, hot and scalding, burned inside him.

Broadening his stance and flaring his mandibles slightly under his mask, Scar spread his arms and readied himself to charge.

It was then that his instinct stopped him, the part of him that always remained calculated and sensible when his brothers simply rushed headlong into battle without thought.

Something isn't right with this, it told him.

The gridded xenomorph paced back and forth at the end of the passage, hissing and growling impatiently as it continued to taunt Scar.

It was purposefully provoking him.

Calming his rage while simultaneously spreading out his senses, Scar nearly roared in displeasure when he realized it was a trap. It was acting as bait.

Whipping his head around behind him, he found several smaller xenomorph drones stealthily closing in on his sleeping companion.

Silently admiring the cleverness of his prey, Scar swiftly pulled a shuriken from his belt. With a flick of his wrist, it was sent flying through the air before it returned only seconds later. He caught the deadly device with ease and flung the simmering blood from its blades. As Scar tucked it back into his belt, he watched in satisfaction as one of the slobbering creatures hovering above the oblivious ooman came to a sudden standstill.

The alien's body was still poised to strike as the front portion of its skull slipped smoothly from its head and hit the floor with a wet splat, its carcass falling over dead soon after.

Realizing that they were caught, the remaining drones slowly backed away and then turned to hastily slink off into the shadows.

Scar looked back to the gridded xenomorph once more. It paced angrily now, throwing tantrum-like hisses over its shoulder as the Queen's voice screamed in its head, forbidding it from attacking now that their plan had been foiled.

Scar pulled his combistick from his back and extended it with a quick flex of his wrist.

Flaring his mandibles again, Scar widened his stance, spread his arms and trilled antagonistically, daring the creature to come at him.

At the sight of the challenge, the drone whipped around on its heel and growled. It stepped forward, as if to charge – only to stop at the last moment as it heard the Queen's furious shrieks.

Its eyeless face seemed to meet the gaze of the predator for one lingering instant. Pulling back its drooling maw to flash its teeth, it threw its head back and let out a promising howl into the dusty air before disappearing into a dark corridor.

Scar's feet started to move of their own accord, instinctively giving chase. He could already imagine the satisfaction of ripping its head from its body in revenge and mounting its skull on his wall.

However, the startled cry that sounded from behind him suddenly reminded him of his companion and his unspoken agreement to watch over her. The gridded drone's scream had undoubtedly awakened her and the sight of the mutilated xenomorph corpse laying inches from her face had likely prompted her startled cry.

Scar roared in fury as he turned and slammed his fist into the wall in an uncharacteristic display of anger.

The little ooman looked up at him, her big eyes wide and alarmed at his sudden and rather violent outburst.

It took him nearly a full minute to get calmed down, but even then he was still on edge. He could practically feel his blood boiling under the surface.

When he abruptly remembered the female's presence, he turned to her sharply and was pleased to see not an ounce of fright on her face. Instead, there was nothing but understanding radiating from her.

Gathering her spear and shield, she stood up and proceeded to step over the corpse that lay before her.

"Let's get the motherfuckers," she said with a dark look in her eyes. She walked past him without another word, seeming to comprehend the reason behind his sudden frustration.

Scar clicked his mandibles as another shiver of exhilaration traveled up his spine at her no-nonsense attitude. He watched curiously as she headed towards the same corridor the gridded drone had disappeared in, apparently as eager to make a kill as he was.

How very different she was from the rest of her kind…

This ooman was not running from her enemy, but facing it instead.

Just as he registered his excitement, he became equally filled with a level of competition. He took a quick tally in his head and was shocked to find she already had two full kills on him.

Snapping his combistick back into its retracted form, Scar growled under his breath at the mere idea of it all.

Catching the resentful sound, the small female whipped her head around and gave the alien a look that, even though he'd never seen it on a human before, he somehow instinctually knew that it was not to be trifled with. Still tucking his combistick into its strap on his back, Scar froze mid-step when she pinned him with her defiant stare and raised her eyebrow.

"Did you say something?" she asked a bit too calmly, her face totally expressionless. Despite not understanding a word she said, even Scar could detect the edge in her tone, causing him to hesitate.

She couldn't possibly have known what he was thinking…could she?

Releasing a scoff, he shook his head and stalked past her, scolding himself for ever considering such a ridiculous thing and even caring about it in the first place.

However, the way she placed a hand on her hip and glared at him as he walked by really made him wonder.

Females…apparently they were all the same no matter one's species…

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o0o

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Finding Sebastian had been something Lex wasn't prepared for.

Seeing the archeologist strung up in that nest of resin and forced to act as an incubator to spawn their parasitic offspring, it had sent her into momentary hysterics.

She had wanted to save him so bad, but it was already too late.

She'd pushed Scar away, refusing to let him kill Sebastian before she could even try to help the suffering man. However, she could see now that she had only been prolonging his pain by trying to devise a way to save him. For a single desperate moment, she actually considered the same barbaric operation that she had been forced to perform in order save Scar's life, but Lex knew it was a lost cause. No human could survive something like that, not without proper medical care.

Lex had pulled and pried at the hard adhesive that trapped him against the wall, all to no avail. It was his pleas to her that brought everything back into focus, allowing her to remember the silent pledge she'd made to herself.

Don't let them reach the surface.

Apparently, he wanted the same thing. He made her promise.

The last words he ever heard were, 'I'm sorry'.

Lex hated herself after she'd pulled the trigger.

Dazedly, she dropped the slime covered Desert Eagle to the floor, a sense of failure filling her as she left the room. She could hardly stand the heavy stench of death permeating throughout the xenomorph's hive. It felt more like a crypt with all the bodies hanging off the walls.

When Scar showed her the device attached to his wrist gauntlet, trilling as he made a simple 'exploding' gesture with his hand, Lex realized this was the place he had been searching for during their time together in the pyramid. He'd been hunting for the den where the drones had taken the eggs.

He was going to blow it up.

Lex couldn't help the hard shiver of excitement that ran down her body at the thought of obliterating the loathsome creatures.

"I hope it kills every fucking one of them," she had said vehemently.

Scar had tilted his head in curiosity at the vengeful sneer that curved her lips, his gaze trailing after her as she turned from the room. She waited for him as he threw the device deep into the nest of eggs just as they began to bloom open at sensing potential new incubators nearby.

Running from the impending blast took the last of Lex's reserves. She was drained, but she pushed herself to her limit and ignored the harsh pain radiating through her hand and thigh.

When they reached the tunnel that led to the surface, Lex felt her heart drop straight to the pit of her stomach as she touched the controls of the sled, only to find them covered in a thick, slime coating. She turned to Scar, about to shout out a warning, when the sight of a waiting hoard of aliens gathered behind them stole her breath away.

Her lips moved in a facsimile of speech, but her words were stolen when one of them jumped down from the ceiling and landed atop him, sending him to his knees with the weight of its heavy, chitin covered body.

Taken off guard, Scar let out a loud roar of pain as one of their black, barbed tails pierced his shoulder.

Lex's eyes widened as his blood sprayed through the air, a few drops splattering her face. The sight caused a deep, resounding fear to crawl over every inch of her flesh…as well as a seething hatred. Scar's body had undergone so much duress so far, and the mere sight of another alien spilling his blood sent her hackles rising in ferocity.

She had not made it this far only have them begrudge her his life. She had fought too hard to protect him to give up now.

Hauling a heavy drill gun from the pile of construction equipment, Lex swung the long barrel around, leveled the alien with an unforgiving stare and fired. The feel of the recoil jerking her body, as well as the pleasing view of the giant hole she'd blasted through the alien's head, sent a satisfying thrill through her chest.

Scar stood quickly, shaking its corpse from his massive frame before its blood could do any further damage. Pivoting on his heel with amazing speed and an impressive amount of agility for one so large, he extended his wrist blades and slashed through the neck of another drone just as it sprung forth to attack. Acidic blood surged from the wound, prompting him to quickly sidestep to avoid being burnt as its body dropped to the floor, writhing and hissing as it died.

Lex threw the drill to the floor, reluctant to admit there were far too many to handle.

When a large drone launched itself forward, scarred with a web of green lines on its skull, it knocked Scar clean off his feet and sent him careening backwards into the hard, icy wall behind them. The walls of the cavern shook and crumbled under the force of the collision and Lex cried out as their clashing bodies flew by a little too close for comfort, knocking her off balance and tossing her smaller body to the floor just from the sheer impact of the warring beasts.

Rushing forward to help, Lex was jerked back unexpectedly by a long, spiny tail. It wrapped itself around her middle and slammed her to the ground. It knocked the wind right out of her, causing her spear to fall limply out of her hand.

Her vision blurred as, much to her horror, the alien slowly began lifting her. She blindly searched for a weapon, her eyes scanning the area desperately while her hands scoured the icy ground, clawing around for something, anything, to grab. She did not have the raw power of either of these aliens and without something to defend herself, she was at their mercy. She felt herself begin to panic, but quickly pushed it down. She had to stay calm and think clearly if she ever wanted to get out of this.

When her eyes landed on an ax lying a foot away, her arm shot out, reaching for it. The moment her fingers wrapped around the thick wooden handle, she clenched her abs and spun her body fully around, putting all her weight into the swing. Lex slammed the ax into its head, using all the force behind the momentum of her body.

Too late, she realized she had hit the creature with the blunt end of the hatchet. It had completely failed to penetrate the alien's hard armor coating. Though it didn't do much damage, the attack had done well to daze it and it stumbled back, effectively stunned.

Feeling its tail loosen, Lex quickly untangled herself and prepared to deliver the finishing blow when the sight of another drone sneaking up on a distracted Scar caught her eye. It was crawling along the wall, creeping ever closer to the preoccupied predator. Busy wrestling with the gridded drone, he did not notice the smaller alien charging him from behind.

Lex acted fast, her body moving on pure impulse rather than thought.

The tightly packed snow underfoot crunched beneath the pressure of her heels as she darted forward, snatching up her spear as she moved.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a wide shower of acidic blood fill the air. It melted the walls around Scar as his massive arms bulged and heaved, tearing the head clean off the gridded drone with his bare hands. Its spine emerged right out of its body, still attached to its head, wrenched out from the sheer force of the decapitation. Lex's entire being shivered in fear and awe as his bloodcurdling roar of victory shook the snow covered walls, sending chills into her very soul.

With adrenaline pulsing hard through her veins, things seemed to warp into slow motion when the smaller drone suddenly pounced for his unguarded back. It pulled her attention away from the scene she had just witnessed and brought her hastily back to reality. Without hesitation, Lex lifted her spear and launched it forward with all her might.

It soared through the air and she prayed it wouldn't miss its target.

She watched with bated breath, held in a tense moment of anticipation. When it struck the drone directly in the chest, knocking it off-course and into the icy wall of the cavern, she felt her heart leap in triumph. Satisfied that her accuracy hadn't been too far off, Lex ran forward, intending to finish it off.

Single-minded in her actions, she paid no heed to its thrashing body and leapt directly onto it to keep it from escaping. She grabbed the shaft of her spear and put all her body weight into it. Her arms shook and her feet skidded in the snow as she fought the superior strength of the alien struggling to get free.

Desperate now, its tail lashed out.

Lex cursed her own stupidity for forgetting about that particular part of their anatomy. She was barely able to avoid having her face impaled. She could do little more than dodge and duck, scarcely evading each strike.

Not quite thinking her next move through properly, she lifted one her hands and with reflexes that were just barely fast enough she grabbed its tail as it struck out again. It immobilized it well enough, but she instantly regretted it as her other arm was now left bear the force of its strength alone.

She was stuck. She'd disabled its movements, but her hands were clearly tied; one arm struggling to keep the alien pinned with her spear, the other keeping a tight grip on its dangerous tail.

Seeing her plight, the alien raised its head and, with a mocking hiss, suddenly jerked its tail down, stabbing her hand with its barbed spurs.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What was she thinking?

Lex cried out in pain. To top it off, it was her injured hand that was already weakened from that little bastard she'd pulled out of Scar's chest. She had gloves on, but they were a sparse buffer to the sharp prongs pressing into her flesh.

When it sent her another mocking growl, boiling anger reared its head inside her.

"You bitch!" she exclaimed. "Laugh at this!"

Abruptly releasing its tail, Lex swiftly pulled out the dagger that she'd securely tucked into her belt, the very one she had 'borrowed' from Scar. She leaned all her weight into the spear to make sure it couldn't flee, lifted her arm and slammed the blade down on into its neck.

The alien instantly went limp.

With its body speared to the wall, its head slowly slumped off to the side as its arms and legs and tail followed suit.

Lex's breathing was ragged and the muscles in her arms were shaking from the immense exertion of the struggle. She teetered a bit on her feet before catching her balance again, stepping back with a gratifying kick to the alien's dead carcass.

When Lex turned around she was taken aback to see the mass of corpses on the ground in front of her. Scar stood with his back to her, having purposefully placed himself between her and the others. She watched as he pulled his combistick free of its latest victim, giving it a gruesome twist to finish off the last of them before turning to her.

That was when she realized…he had her back…just as she had his.

He'd protected her.

Stepping towards her, he scrutinized her closely, trilling to himself in confusion as he glanced from her to the sled and then back again. The question hanging in the air was clear; why didn't she leave him? Why did she stay?

She'd had the perfect opportunity to escape. Yet she hadn't. And he couldn't understand why.

Lex couldn't help the small smirk that lifted one corner of her lips.

"Really…you should know by now I'm not leaving you behind," she said as she pulled her spear out from the xenomorph's chest and stepped around him, unable to stop her smile from widening.

The startling sound of an explosion ripping through centuries' worth of ice cut the moment short. It snapped their attention in the direction of the noise, halting any further thought of conversing.

The bomb had just gone off.

In the distance, Lex could see the dark outline of the pyramid begin to light up through cracks and splinters that were suddenly appearing on its surface. Just as it grew blindingly bright, it exploded.

Without a single moment to spare they ran to the sled and Lex promptly punched in the input code on the control panel, her fingers shaking in her haste. They jumped onto it at the last second and took off into the tunnel just as the scorching hot tongues of fire burst through the cavern and licked at their feet. The speed of the sled's take off nearly caused Lex to lose her grip entirely, accelerating faster and faster as they ascended. Air, cold and biting, whipped past them as they drew closer to the surface.

The inferno followed them every inch of the way, threatening to swallow them whole. Just when she thought she was going to lose her hold and fall into the cloud of flames at their heel, they burst through the surface, the sheer velocity of their speed spitting them high into the air.

Lex hit the ground running. She didn't even bothering to look back as she felt the immense heat and pressure from the explosion erupt from the tunnel behind her.

Under foot, the ground crumbled and cracked as she bolted for safety. Adrenaline surged through her veins, pushing her to run faster as the old wooden structures of the whaling station collapsed around her. When she dared to glance over her shoulder she was stunned to find Scar a good ten feet behind her. He was lagging behind, his internal wounds slowing him down considerably.

"Scar!" she called out harshly, her tone promising him a good nagging if he didn't pick his pace up soon.

Hearing his answering roar of indignation, she was relieved when he finally reached her side. However, her relief was short lived as a large fracture splintered the ice in front of them. It opened the earth up, creating a substantial gap between them and safety. The ground beneath them began to sink and fall into the massive pit of the explosion.

With her heart in her throat, Lex lunged forward and released a hard gasp as she landed on the other side.

For a split second she felt a welling sense of dread rise up inside her, twisting her guts as she wondered if Scar had made it. The heavy sound of his feet landing right next to her head instantly quelled her worries and she sighed, yet again, in relief.

He'd made it.

They both had.

With Scar beside her, she pushed to her feet and turned to gaze out over the enormous crater that was left behind. The pyramid had been completely obliterated. The smoke plume reached for miles into the sky. Debris was scattered all around them and the few remaining buildings that had actually withstood the aftershock of the explosion were on fire.

It was over.

The bright moon hung in the sky above, lighting the rubble filled basin in front of her. No longer was it the same hunter's moon that she had seen on the night she'd first entered the pyramid. While it was only partially full now, it still radiated an impressive brilliance in the crisp air, shrouded only by the smoke that darkened the atmosphere.

It was eerily silent. After such a harrowing experience it felt odd to be surrounded by the dead calm of the Arctic. There was something disturbing about the quiet. It wasn't peaceful or serene. It was heavy and surreal. It allowed the reality of what she'd just survived settle over her in a most unwelcoming way.

Glancing over at her companion, she found him staring down into the wreckage, as equally silent as the night that surrounded them.

Lex stepped closer to him and looked up into his masked face, the hushed crackle of burning wood the only sound to be heard.

His locks swung slightly as he turned to her, the now familiar sound of clicking reaching her ears. She said nothing as she stood before him, each of them wordlessly regarding the other. There was a certain air of respect that hung between them now, as if they understood each other better for their shared experiences, brought together through battle and bloodshed.

It was a bond that was somehow stronger than anything she'd ever felt before.

When he reached up and began to detach the hoses along his mask, Lex remained quiet, but felt a growing sense of curiosity well up inside her. As he pulled the tubes free, they released a high pitched hiss that ebbed out only seconds later. Despite having seen his face earlier in the pyramid, it had been from afar and it was only a paltry glance. To see him up close…Lex could not help herself as she found her head unconsciously dipping forward a small bit in equal parts anticipation and nervousness.

The moment he pulled his mask away she stopped breathing. Only now did she realize just how much that obscured view she'd previously gotten did not do him justice.

Just as her eyes began to roam his face, he suddenly let out a hair raising roar, testing her nerve. While she gasped silently from the mere unexpectedness of it, Lex could do little more than stare up into his eyes. There were no words capable of describing the thoughts and emotions she felt in that instant. Her human reflexes wanted to flinch back, but she easily hardened her composure. She kept expecting a flood of fear to rise to the surface at any second. She kept waiting for a 'normal' reaction to kick in, but it never did.

Perhaps if it were any other occasion she would have been afraid. But as she stood before him, she could not stop herself from leaning forward a bit more to examine the alien features he presented. The broad crown of his head, the large mandibles framing his mouth, the surprisingly sharp tusks poised at the end of those mandibles, and even the terrifyingly razor sharp teeth of his lipless mouth…all of this seemed to pale in comparison to his otherworldly eyes.

Deep amber in color and terrifyingly intelligent, the intensity they radiated took her breath away.

For some reason, Lex felt her heart leap in her chest.

Momentarily lost in his eyes, she pulled herself back to attention when he reached down to his belt and tugged free an alien finger he'd taken as a trophy. He lifted it before her, letting her see the toxic green blood coating its tip.

When she noticed the mark burnt into his own forehead, Lex understood immediately. Without resistance, she willingly turned her head and offered her cheek in a concession that was as full of trust as it was respect. Scar trilled quietly in approval, apparently pleased with her acceptance. As he raised the claw to her face, Lex had to close her eyes against the burning pain she felt when it touched her skin.

However, even through the stinging pain, Lex felt something spark to life inside her. It felt ancient and primal and proud. It was then, as he marked her, that she began to understand him a little better. Indeed, he was a creature built for battle. From the unusual quills that outlined his brow and cheekbones, to his brutish muscles, to his clear intelligence, right down to the deadly talons on his fingers; every bit of him was made to kill. But she somehow knew that his essence couldn't be defined in human terms. It would be pointless to even try. She couldn't look at the acts he'd committed in the pyramid as murder, as something human.

There was no way that she would justify it, neither did she believe that it was right. But now, at least she understood why.

The acidic blood sizzled over her tender cheek as he finished with one last stroke. Lex did well to show no signs of discomfort. She merely released a soft breath just as the stench of her charred flesh drifted away on the breeze.

He pulled back, eyeing the newly inscribed mark of honor that he had carved into her flesh with his own hand. Trilling, Scar bowed his head in gesture of respect that had Lex filling with pride.

How many humans had the privilege of being acknowledged by someone of his kind? She suspected very little.

The stinging radiating throughout her cheek suddenly felt good to her. It made her feel alive and strong and like a survivor.

Like a warrior.

Still…as she stared up into those amber eyes a sense of sadness fell over her.

He would leave her now. He'd go back to his people and go about his life, as would she. Something inside her rebelled at the idea, but her practical mind knew how impossible it was to think otherwise. Though, she wasn't exactly sure why she would want to think otherwise in the first place. They'd been through so much together. They'd learned to trust each other and protect one another when things had gotten too dicey for either of them to deal with on their own.

I'm going to miss you…

The words were on the very tip of her tongue, but she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to say them, let alone understand why she wanted to say them. If it wasn't for him and his brethren, none of this would have happened in the first place. However, a bond had been formed regardless of the circumstances and it pained her now to think of breaking it.

His head cocked in that familiar fashion, his mandibles clicking in question to the hurt that had suddenly washed over her dark eyes. Soft flurries of snow drifted between them and caught in her hair as she began to lift her hand.

"Scar…" she hesitated, unsure if it was wise to touch him. "I-"

The deep rumble of fracturing ice pulled their attention away from one another. Snapping their heads towards the sound, both Scar and Lex widened their eyes in shock at the sight of the Queen bursting through the rubble, screaming her fury.

Scar's mandibles flared with a low trill of alarm while Lex instantly curled her body up in a defensive posture, unable to fathom how anything could have survived that blast. She could hardly process the size of the alien before her, causing her mind to reel as it straightened up to its full height. Chains hung from the Queen's body, tangled around her arms and chest and crest. They rattled with every move she made, the quiet chime a prelude to death. She was as gracefully beautiful as she was monstrously petrifying. Large and imposing, she easily stood seventeen feet tall.

She must have been the one responsible for laying all those eggs, Lex thought to herself and then abruptly scolded herself for allowing her mind to wander at such a time.

Releasing another roar of resentment, she lowered her stature and stalked forward with her arms spread, exaggerating her size and displaying the true extent of her ire. Her advance forced them back. With each step their minds scrambled for a strategy to take on such a massive enemy, but she afforded them no time for such a luxury. Within striking range, she reared back to lash out.

Centuries' worth of hatred for the predator's kind boiled inside of her, leading her to instantly zero in on the larger of the two.

Mandibles still flared, Scar cocked his wrist blades and lifted his arm before firing. The shot grazed her shoulder and she shrieked in pain. Trying to get as many hits in as possible before she got too close, he quickly pulled out a shuriken. Its blades flicked out with an ominous shlink before he threw it forward with deft ease. With her head already thrown back from her howl of pain, it successfully sliced through the underside of her neck before returning to his hand. Not wasting moment, he instantly threw it back out to slash off a one of the tips of her magnificent crown.

As it returned once more, Scar lifted his arm to retrieve the weapon.

Enraged, she lashed out with her tail. It rammed his chest and sent him flying straight over Lex's head, crashing many yards away into a pile of debris. The attack had hit him hard, right where she'd pulled a larva from his torso not even a full day ago. Lex watched as he staggered to his knees, clearly struggling with the agony dealt to his wounded chest and unaware of the Queen closing in on him. Seeing the predator regaining his balance, she whipped her tail forward mercilessly and slammed him in the back, unwilling to let him recover before she could reach him to finish the job. It was clear by the way she went for him that she didn't even care to make him suffer. The yautja race, enslaver of her kind, murderers of her children...she just wanted him dead.

The whip-like appendage thrashed out and hit his back, intentionally striking the area where his wounds were worst. The collision sent him face first into the ground where he waivered for a moment before becoming very still.

Lex realized with no small amount of panic that he wasn't getting back up.

She watched the Queen come to a stop over him, her tail slinking forward to hover above his unmoving form.

No other thoughts entered Lex's mind other than her will to protect.

Her wounds suddenly didn't hurt anymore. Her injured hand didn't protest as she tightened her grip on her spear. Her burned thigh didn't sting as she put all her weight into her legs, and her weary body no longer felt so weary.

Lex charged forward, knowing exactly where she wanted to strike.

As she reached the back of the Queen, she dropped to the icy ground, using her momentum and the slick earth to slide underneath her. Heaving back up to her feet, she used the force of her legs to plunge the spear deep into her belly.

The Queen screamed in agony and reared up on her hind legs. She pitched backwards, clawing at the weapon lodged in her body. When the massive alien toppled over onto a burning building, Lex was flung halfway across the field as if she weighed little more than a grain of sand.

The human felt her shoulders and back instantly bruise as she landed hard on the ice, sliding another twenty feet before finally skidding to a stop.

However, as she stumbled to her feet, the distinct sizzle coming from her breast pulled her attention to her smoking jacket. Unhooking the clasps in a frenzy, she scrambled out of her red coat and threw it aside. The moment it hit the ground, she lifted her head, her eyes widening in fear as she saw the Queen pull herself from the rubble and smack the spear from her chest.

For everything Lex had faced in the pyramid, she realized she had not known the true meaning of terror until the Queen leveled her eyeless gaze solely upon her…while she stood utterly defenseless. She turned and ran, but the Queen covered the ground between them fast and was upon her in mere seconds. Daring a glance backwards, she instantly regretted it when she saw the Queen's inner jaw snap out, hungry to taste the back of her head.

Lex ducked and swerved, her efforts barely keeping her head on her shoulders. Seeing a pile of whale bones ahead, she shifted her feet and darted into the massive skeleton. The ribs only offered a meager shelter as the Queen plowed through them, barely slowing down.

With nowhere else to go, Lex dived under the first thing she saw: a very ancient looking water tower. It was rickety and the wood was splintered with age. Tucking herself as far underneath it as she could, Lex's heart lodged in her throat when she turned to see the Queen not slowing down, but speeding up.

Her massive crown rammed the structure, nearly knocking it clear off its hinges. Dust and snow rained down on Lex as the impact shook everything in sight. Single-minded in her rage, the Queen lowered her head and charged the tower again and again. She slammed and clawed at Lex's dilapidated fortress, desperate to get at her prey.

Pulse pounding in her ears, Lex's hands scrambled around, blindly searching for a weapon of any kind but finding none.

Unarmed and trapped under a fast crumbling water tower, she felt the cold reality of death creeping up on her.

A cry of shock escaped her lips when the barbed tail of the alien Queen stabbed into the wood only an inch from her head. Her body shook with fear as it pulled back and struck again, whizzing by with deadly speed. She dodged and stooped, evading it as best she could.

Finally, the Queen pushed the top of the tower far enough back to get a clear strike. Her large maw quivered as she exposed her inner jaws, gracing her prey with its last horrific sight before the final blow.

Frantically trying to find an escape, Lex's eyes landed on a small shack to the left, directly behind the Queen. Bodies of her crewmen were strung up throughout its deck, their white overcoats stained red with blood. Too distracted with survival to cringe at the morbidity of it, all she could think of was how the members of her team had been armed to the teeth with guns and ammo.

Using her size to her advantage, Lex bent low and sprung forward underneath the Queen's body just as her inner jaw shot out. She felt it graze her hair and realized just how close of a call it had been.

Pushing her legs to their max, she sprinted across the small patch of snow between the tower and the building and burst through the frail wood of the door with her shoulder, landing roughly in a cloud of dust. She coughed and sputtered but lurched to her feet regardless, searching for anything that even remotely resembled a weapon. Her arms wildly pushed over stacks of boxes and research equipment, dumping their contents unceremoniously onto the floor. There had to be something somewhere! She'd been so disapproving of their decision to bring guns in the first place, but now she was practically praying for one.

Irony, cold and cruel, must have been laughing at her.

"Damn it!" she cried in frustration and slammed her fist down onto an old wooden table. There was nothing!

The Queen's shrieks called to her from outside as she searched for her prey, raging and ranting at the injustice of her disappearance.

With one last angered outburst, Lex kicked a large trunk in aggravation. The boxes stacked atop it wobbled briefly before falling over, exposing the big bold letters printed on its lid reading,

WASP 58, ROCKET LAUNCHER

Research project, my ass, was Lex's first thought before she quickly shoved the rest of the boxes off and unlatched its lid. When she threw the cover back, she never thought she'd be so happy to see something as violent as the piece of weaponry perched before her. Nestled cozily in black foam, the rocket launcher's smooth surface twinkled back at her in the sparse light of the shed.

She had to resist the urge to lean down and kiss it. However, as she reached out to retrieve the firearm, chunks of the ceiling collapsed on her and knocked her to the floor. The Queen had found her. Her roar of conquest reached into the dark sky above as she swiped at the roof with her long outer arms. Old and fragile, the structure crumbled under her assault like stale bread. A heavy section of wood fell on Lex's legs, pinning her, and another hit her temple hard, nearly knocking her out cold.

Laying on her back and staring up through the hole in the roof, Lex groaned, her body aching all over and her vision swimming in and out of focus.

Snow fell soundly on her face and sprinkled her curly hair as the ramparts continued to crumble down around her.

Hovering overhead was the Queen. Her wide crown blocked out the falling snow, growing ever closer until all Lex could see was black. The alien wasted no time teasing her prey this time. Quite suddenly, she wrenched herself forward to deliver the finishing blow.

Lex had heard that in moments of death one's life flashed before their eyes. With plenty of close calls on her adventures and rock climbing excursions, she'd never experienced any life altering visions. She had never believed it to be true. But now, seeing the inner jaws of this alien creature moving in on her with frightening speed, images of climbing Mount Everest with her father came to mind. Pictures played out like a movie behind her eyes; growing up, her first car, random memories in a playground she didn't even remember, movie night with her father, leading her first expedition. Surprisingly enough, the events inside the pyramid were very prevalent – likely since it was her latest and freshest living memories.

Scar's face came to mind and a soft smile touched her lips as she consoled herself in the knowledge that she had fulfilled her promise and protected him. He got out alive and now, hopefully with this sacrifice, he would be able to get back to his people and go on living. She could only pray that his people would exterminate the beast before her…she didn't want these aliens reaching civilization.

They would annihilate everything she'd ever known.

Staring up into the face of death, Lex's breath caught in her throat as Scar's presence suddenly appeared from nowhere. Like nothing she'd ever seen before, he moved through the air, his hulking form as lethal as it was graceful and swift. He twisted his body once and, using the powerful momentum behind the sharp movement, dealt a precise and deadly blow. With one efficient strike he had impaled the Queen straight through her skull with his combistick, stopping her jaw just as it grazed Lex's forehead.

She howled in anguish and stumbled back, thrashing and floundering in desperation to remove the offending device lodged in her brain.

His roar was a strange comfort to her ears, but she couldn't bring herself to get up.

Every part of her felt like it wanted to give out.

Outside she could hear him battling the mighty foe that was the Queen.

For a good long moment, Lex wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and go to sleep. She was so tired…

It was just as her lashes began to droop and her vision began to tunnel that another roar snatched her from that calming darkness. His face came to mind again, with those amber eyes and unusual mandibles. They had gone through so much to reach this point…too much to give up now.

She had not survived that hellhole only to pass out from exertion at a pivotal point like this! She would be damned if she didn't get her ass up and fulfill her vow to put a stop to those creatures here and now.

With much protest from her body, Lex hissed and flinched as she staggered to her knees and crawled over to the trunk. Her arms sloppily shoved off the debris that had fallen over it.

She pulled the heavy piece of artillery from its foam-cased dwelling and jammed the cartridge into place.

It was only one shot…but one was plenty enough.

Limping out onto the destroyed deck, Lex bent to one knee and took a few seconds to catch her breath before hauling the massive rocket launcher onto her shoulder.

Just ahead of her, Scar was evading the Queen's deadly tail as he fought her with the last of his weapons. Within moments, he'd gotten her into a position that was open enough for a clear shot.

"Scar!" she shouted out in warning.

Both predator and alien turned at the sound of her voice.

Scar's eyes widened at the sight of the tiny human holding the huge rocket launcher. Though it was an unexpected development, he understood her intention and quickly got out of the way.

With the Queen's full attention directed at Lex, her imposing form stalked forward to dispose of the bothersome human. As she closed in, her head tilted to and fro in confusion, bewildered as to why her prey refused to run from her charge.

"Eat this…you bitch."

Lex's finger squeezed the trigger.

Although there was surprisingly little recoil, in her weakened state Lex's body lurched backwards from the rebound, causing her to land on her behind. The launcher was loud in her ear and, having never fired such a destructive weapon before, it was all Lex could do not to scream in shock. The right side of the Queen's chest exploded in a spray of blood and tissue before she even realized the missile had left the barrel, even before she could realize her backside had hit the wooden planks underfoot.

Shrugging the launcher from her shoulder, she pushed herself to her feet, dismayed at the realization she had missed her intended target: the Queen's head. However, the blast had apparently done plenty of damage, considering the Queen was currently hunched in the snow, shrieking in unthinkable agony.

Why couldn't she just die!

It was then that she noticed the chains were still trailing behind the Queen's body...

The water tower Lex had hid under was not far away, teetering on the edge of the bluff about to fall into the sea...

Without waiting, the woman rushed forward and snagged the chain up from the ground. With all her might she heaved at the shackles, trying to pull the Queen close enough to the nozzle of the tower.

But she wasn't remotely strong enough.

Lex realized distraughtly that if this didn't work, she didn't know what else to do.

When Scar's broad back suddenly stepped in front of her, his hands grabbing hold of the chains to give a single, powerful haul, Lex was both relieved for his help and stunned by his strength as he successfully brought the alien's massive form several feet closer.

Quickly turning, she wrapped the Queen's shackles of imprisonment around the spigot.

The insistent tugging seemed to pull the Queen out of her throes of misery, and Lex's hands began to shake as she turned her crowned head towards them and released a roar of vengeance. The tight pressure on the chains lessened when she started to move closer, granting easier manipulation.

It allowed Lex to hastily finish knotting them in place.

"Got it!" she announced as their efforts paid off at last. Giving a final twist to the shackles, she stepped back from the tower and turned to Scar, tasting victory just inches from their grasp.

She wasn't expecting to be met with the sight of the Queen's tail suddenly emerging from his chest.

Lex's heart literally stalled. For a single frozen moment in time, she watched, totally helpless, as the barbed tail of the Queen skewered the only companion she'd had in this nightmare.

His green blood sprayed outwards, staining the white snow around them. Lex felt her heart clench in her chest as his body jerked from the impact. Slowly, he looked down to the offending object that was impaling him.

"No," Lex breathed uselessly, her eyes wide and brimming with tears.

A horror-filled shudder ran throughout her entire being as the Queen began to lift him from the ground. Lex quickly realized if she didn't do something immediately, he'd be killed right before her eyes.

Frantically, she searched for anything she could use but the tears were blurring everything in sight and the deep, forlorn sadness washing over her clouded her judgment.

Just as hope began to fade, there, beside the tower, was an old whaler's spear.

She grabbed it without hesitation and turned to the last remaining bolt holding the tower in place. She knew that she alone could not take the Queen on and save him with nothing but a spear. Getting her to release him was his only hope.

Shoving the tip under the rivet, she pushed and pried at it, glancing back to see him hanging before her drooling maw, mandibles spread and facing his doom head-on.

Leaning forward and putting all of her body weight behind the motion, she jerked the rod down. Finally, the bolt snapped in its fastener and popped out just in time.

Like a domino effect, the tower went down first and then took the Queen with it, flinging Scar clear across the field from the pure momentum of her body being wrenched sideways.

She clawed and scraped with everything in her being, trying to get at Lex and drag the human with her. She had already mortally wounded the predator, the one who'd blown up her precious hive. He would undoubtedly die. She would not go down without at least taking the female with her, the very one who had killed so many of her children alongside the hunter and even maimed her body.

Lex flinched back as her inner jaws snapped out again and again, nearly reaching her face. Weakened by her wounds, her talons ripped apart the wooden planks as she was slowly dragged closer to edge of the cliff by the weight of the tower.

Lex frowned as she watched. There was a very real possibility that this creature would not die even it sank all the way to the bottom of the ocean's icy depths. Frozen was not enough for Lex, trapped by the crushing depths of the ocean was not enough, chained to an inescapable fate was not enough…not for Lex.

Only death would serve to sate her fury. Killing this beast was the only way to bring peace to her mind, to know she would not rise again and reach civilization.

The image of her crew – a crew that she'd been responsible for – flashed through her mind. Images; of them being dragged off one by one, of greedy old Weyland sacrificing himself for them, of shooting Sebastian in the head to end his suffering, of the Queen's tail emerging from Scar's body…all of it suddenly surfaced.

With a fierce battle cry, Lex held out the whaling spear and charged forward. She leapt towards the struggling Queen, landing on her skull with her feet straddling each side of her regal crown. Her tail instantly lashed out, eager to run the human through.

She hadn't even seen it coming, but when the barbed appendage gouged deep into her right side, Lex felt all the air sucked straight from her lungs. Pain like she'd never known before shot through her entire body. It was excruciating in its intensity and sent a blinding whiteness to momentarily overtake her vision. The sheer, unadulterated power of her tail had nearly knocked her off her feet.

It was a laborious fight to simply stay upright, but she refused to give in…not now. Not ever.

She was going to end this.

Releasing a mighty scream into the night, Lex raised the spear high above her head and plunged it down deep into the Queen's brain, her entire body shaking with the strength she had invested in the attack.

The Queen instantly stilled.

The sudden halt of her constant shrieks was a startling change. The echoes of her howls seemed to haunt the silent sky, the quiet near deafening.

Feeling the alien's powerful body twitch one last time beneath her feet, Lex straightened her back and grabbed hold of the spear, forcing it further into her brain with one last exhausting push, just to be sure.

Then, a rather sweet sound filled the air; the sound of nothing.

It was done. It was finally over.

She was dead.

Staggering on her feet, she managed to catch herself on the pole of the spear before she could fall over. Weakly, she pulled the Queen's barbed tail out of her side with a nasty squelch.

Suddenly very dizzy, Lex dropped to her knees and raised her head.

"It's over..." she whispered.

With her lungs full of the cold arctic air, her hushed voice slowly died out on the breeze as the moon silently watched from above.

Scar! Her mind abruptly reminded her of the wounded hunter, pulling her out of her reverie.

She felt her balance shift as the corpse she stood upon suddenly began to drop over the cliff. In the frigid environment, rigor mortis had set in unnaturally fast with the alien, stiffening her body and causing her extremities to begin curling in on themselves. Lex turned, her legs wobbling as she slid off the Queen's slippery skull, and not a moment too late. The second her feet touched the ground, the Queen's body plummeted to the icy depths below.

She paid no mind the loud splash that subsequently followed, marking the moment the alien corpse hit the water. Her eyes immediately began searching for him, turning every which way in a slight haze of panic. She looked for traces of that florescent green blood, listened for a hint of a trill, hunted for a glimpse of his mottled skin…anything. What if she had been too late?

A soft green glow caught Lex's eye and she hesitantly stepped towards the small drop of his blood. Ahead of it was another drop, and then another. She followed the trail that led back to him, the blood splatters growing thicker and more numerous the closer she edged.

Seeing his large form lying in the snow gave her pause, fearing the worst.

Holding her bleeding abdomen, she limped forward and knelt by his side. Tears hung from her lashes when she saw his eyes watching her. She gave a shuddering breath, thankful that he was alive. But then her gaze traveled down his body.

The gaping hole in his middle was impossible to miss.

Lex leaned forward, her hands hovering over him, clenching and unclenching her fists as she scoured her mind, trying to think of some way to help. She didn't know what to do. Even if his anatomy was the same as hers there was nothing she could do to help him.

"Scar…" she uttered brokenly. Slowly, that perfect composure she had always prided herself on began to crumble. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off his wound, as if she could make it go away just by staring at it long enough and wishing hard enough for it to disappear.

His weak purr snapped her eyes back to his, the sound at once soothing and reassuring. Reaching up, his knuckle gently caressed her cheek where he'd marked her before dropping his hand, unable to hold it up a second longer.

"Please…don't die," she said softly.

She had never felt more useless than she did in that moment. She sat beside him, her arms tucked close to herself, as he drifted away. She couldn't even make him more comfortable or keep him warm or take away his pain.

He gave one last trill, as if to say something to her, but the action caused a mass of blood to erupt from his mouth before he suddenly went still.

Lex felt as if something inside her chest had just been torn apart and ripped away.

Her body trembled, feeling utterly numb as she leaned forward. With her cold hands still tucked between her thighs for warmth, she rested her cheek atop his chest. His warm blood mixed with a single tear that had finally escaped her control. She stared up at his face emptily as snow continued to fall around them, baring silent witness to his last moments.

"I told you I wouldn't leave you behind," she whispered under her breath and closed her eyes, realizing that she had failed him.

Tired and broken as she was, she didn't notice the gentle glow of light that started to illuminate the area. When the space before her distorted unnaturally, it finally caught her attention and prompted her to lift her head. A hum of electricity seemed to come from nowhere as the air in front of her began to give off little sparks of blue and white.

Then, as if appearing from nothing, another creature unveiled itself. Standing on the other side of Scar's body, it loomed over them, tall and imposing. With the bright light behind it washing out its features, all Lex could see was a massive silhouette.

Like a switch being flicked on, adrenaline began pumping through her veins, forcing her into overdrive once more. After everything she'd been through, her defenses were running far too high for her not to act aggressively. Dismally, she thought she was facing another threat, the nightmare never seeming to end.

Lightening quick, Lex reached down to where she knew Scar kept an extra dagger hidden in his boot. She pulled the blade free of its confines and straddled his lifeless body with her feet, standing over him protectively.

Holding the weapon defensively, she bared her teeth at the creature before her, too weary and tired and haggard to even bother trying to stay calm. Her hair, once smooth and relaxed to perfection, was now wild and untamed, falling about her shoulders in an ironic emulation of the predator's own dread-like mane. Now, she was exhausted, in pain, hungry, cold, weak, heartbroken, alone.

She was utterly pushed to her limits.

Alexa Woods, always so composed and levelheaded, was at her breaking point. She wasn't sure if she was strong enough to face yet another enemy.

Still, even if she failed...she was going to at least try to survive.

However, Lex quickly stopped short when she saw it was not one of the serpentine-like monsters that had caused her so much grief, but another of Scar's kind.

The humanoid was staggeringly huge, with long greying locks and intimidating quills protruding from its brow and cheekbones. Layers of magnificent armor covered its body and a crimson cloak, long and billowing, hung from its shoulder, swaying delicately in the breeze.

He trilled at her curiously, not the least bit intimidated by her. He appeared more interested in studying her small form and her fierce protectiveness of the yautja she seemed willing to shield with her very life.

Suspicion rippled through Lex. The alien standing before her was the same as Scar, perhaps older, but the same. Did he mean either of them harm? Was he here to help? If so, why hadn't he helped them earlier when the Queen had attacked them?

Lex could hardly keep her balance to stay standing upright, let alone think clearly. She was clutching her side in pain and growing dizzier by the second. She didn't even realize how badly she was bleeding.

With her mind in a jumbled mess of pain and fatigue, Lex couldn't bring herself to trust the creature standing before her so easily.

Even if he was like Scar, there was too much distrust in her to simply stand down. If he ever cared to help, he should have done it when they were fighting the Queen, maybe then Scar wouldn't have...

Lex shook her head, not liking the way it hurt when she thought about him.

Before she could contemplate it a second longer, the static buzz of more cloaking devices signaled the reveal of numerous other predators surrounding her. The crackle of the electric blue light caused her to tense and hold her dagger tighter. She raised it higher, keeping the blade flat to her forearm for better leverage should she be forced to defend herself. As they began to close in on her, she began to feel more and more uncomfortable with the situation. Her eyes darted between each party, knowing that she didn't stand a chance.

Fear began to build inside her and her heart raced. At her side, she felt a sudden outpouring of warmth as she continued to bleed out all over herself. Her knees wobbled and she nearly collapsed atop her hulking alien comrade, but she powered through it, determined to protect him with her life...determined to protect her own life.

When she noticed how close they'd gotten, studying her with prying inquisitiveness, Lex shouted out a warning, trying to keep them away.

"Stay back!" she demanded harshly, baring her teeth for emphasis. She was beginning to feel more and more like a caged animal with every step they took.

Then logic started trying to break through her clouded mind, warring with her fear.

Perhaps she wasn't thinking straight…

These were his people. What was she doing? He was already dead. Her instincts had been piloting her actions for far too long now, blocking out any rational decisions her normally practical mind would make.

Off to her right, the sound of another curious trill had her head jerking in that direction. When she saw one of the predators leaning in to investigate her, she immediately mistook his actions and reverted back to protective mode, logical reasoning gone.

"Don't touch him!" she snapped.

The old, caped predator noticed how their presence had agitated her. Turning to the others, he sent out a loud, commanding bark. Instantly, they halted their advance.

Lex relaxed slightly and he trilled in response, coaxing her further.

Her arm slowly began to lower at the sound, alleviating some of her concerns.

Suddenly, she felt the grip of a large, warm hand latch onto her wrist. Lex turned to find one of the tall aliens decloaking behind her, so stealthy his boots hadn't even made a noise in the snow. Cursing herself for trusting him, she immediately retaliated.

She struggled and kicked weakly, her strength nearly gone.

"No!" she protested futilely. "Let met go!"

Lex let out a growl of irritation when he easily pulled the dagger from her grasp. It had been her last weapon of defense and a cold comfort in light of her current circumstances.

At the sight of the others moving in to take Scar away, Lex suddenly felt very alone at the realization that they were taking the only friend she had left in this desolate situation, even if he was dead. Her instincts were running on high and she had already faced worse. She'd faced the Queen. She wasn't going to let them intimidate her.

"No!" she cried out as they rolled him none too gently onto a stretcher. "I'll kill you if you hurt him!" She tried to sound convincing, but she knew you couldn't hurt someone who was already gone.

The oldest of their group moved forward again to examine her. It was quite pointless for such a weak creature to put up this much of a fight, yet she stubbornly remained defiant.

With her continued resistance, the predator holding her captive only tightened his hold on her arm and pulled her back to his chest to maintain better control of her much smaller body. Taller and fairly thinner than Scar had been, but still muscular, Lex didn't let his size stop her as she attempted to twist out of his hold.

Excruciating pain shot up the nerves of her spine as she felt the wound in her side rip open even further due to her flailing. It was only by sheer force of will that she was able to bite back a scream. Suddenly feeling very, very weak, she fought the tunneling of her vision with the last ounce of her strength, but then everything became unbearably dark.

Looking up, the old predator's aged face was the last thing she saw before her head dropped back limply with unconsciousness.

.

o0o

.

Translations:

z'skvy-de - xenomorph chestbuster

ooman - human

So, even though I loved AVP, I do not believe a predator would hunt alongside/mark a human simply for 'accidentally' killing a xenomorph. I mean really, all Lex did was lift a spear while she sniveled on the floor in fear, and of course, she tied a chain to a water tower(woohoo). The latter only occurring after he marked her. Scar did all the work! Seriously, a human would have to be a lot more fierce than that to earn a pred's respect. With that in mind, I extended their time in the pyramid and had them fight a lot more aliens. That way, Lex actually did something to earn her mark of honor.

Anyways, I had a difficult time deciding whether or not to write from the perspective of the predator. I felt that offering too much insight into the mind of the predator would ruin it, as the predator's voice (imo) is shown through actions that are always implied but never directly spoken. Choosing whether or not to give a voice to Scar was hard and I hope it was cohesive and enjoyable for the reader regardless of my pitfalls.

To those who reviewed and such, thank you so much for the support! If you would like more, please let me know!

Side note: omg, I feel so bad for the xeno Queen!