There is quite a bit of switching back and forth between Wolf and the Xenomorphs, but that will only be for the first two chapters! Don't think one's part is too long than the other, because next chapter we will be focused sorely and entirely on Wolf. Enjoy!

Wolf was making his way across the large plains of the Refinery hours after his encounter upon the human complex. His wrist blades unsheathed because of the risk of getting jumped by Xenomorphs, Wolf knew his next target.

Inside the Refinery.

It was risky, that was no doubt, and there was not going to be any Xenomorphs there to assist him in his plans. But he did have a few ideas on how to get inside, because he has done it before. No struggle.

The aggressive yautja knew he had hours of time before he actually managed to reach the lab, but this made him no less slow in his pace. He wanted to accomplish his mission in a few days' time, not just the Refinery, but his entire journey itself.

But he didn't want to face the Council of Yautja and their wrath towards him. He would have to answer questions, and Wolf would have to defend himself and tell the entire truth. The fact that he would never kill one of his own kin, especially in the same clan.

Wolf knew it was Dark and Claw who had accidently killed the yautja while running from a very powerful, undescribed Xenomorph, as they had told him. But he was actually pretty confused. What Xenomorph was powerful enough, even by a Queen's wrath, to send three yautja dashing back into their homes, one accidently getting killed by the other?

All these unanswered questions Wolf would need to look into himself in order to stay innocent of something that he didn't even do. But in time, he would be sure to have found out the answers. He just needed a little research.

But in time, he wasn't the only thing out there.

Something crunched beneath the sand and sticks of the Refinery's realm. Wolf immediately stopped and turned around, and he felt his hoarse breath hit the inside of his bio-mask.

It was followed by an eerie silence that made even Wolf feel chills running up his spine like water over the sands of the beach. He growled and clicked his mandibles together before he turned around and attempted to make a dash for it.

Something was watching him.

He could feel its presence, lurking in the shadows, hidden by the darkness that surrounded the very both of them. And he was going to do something.

He lifted his arms up slightly, before bringing them down and stretching them out in a menacing way, before he let out a large yautja roar that echoed over the blandness of the Refinery's world.

Whatever was following him, whatever had its gaze glued to him in whatever manner, turned around and fled back into the darkness, not to be followed but left by the Wolf predator. He had much more important things to do.

Not only was that thing making him suspicious, but also very curious. What would just… stand there? Not any of this really had him too worried, just confused.

Wolf was now wary, far more than he had been recently. He swore there was some unusual creature that as glaring at him from behind all reality. Wolf was going to keep his eye open for good.

After a few more hours of the same boring travel, Wolf could see the Refinery in his eye view, glowing so darkly one would have thought Hell created it. He had been here few times, but he had been there before, sneaking his way in there with Dark when the two were barely Young Bloods.

He remembered the elder days when him and Dark, Claw, and Spartan who partake on missions together, but Spartan was not a Young Blood with them. At that time, he was already an Elite Predator who had a sense of fun in killing humans in the Refinery who allowed Dark and Wolf to host missions similar to that topic, but no one else.

But now, Spartan was the leader of the Elite clan, and his sense of humor and fun in killing dropped into a more responsible way, his life what was once a bound of fun now turned into a serious, harsh yautja who did what was fair to the entire clan, and he was the one who decided that Wolf take the dishonorable trail that he was on now.

Wolf knew that Spartan and he were no longer the pals that they used to be. They now were two of the same clans, hunters just working among each other willing to do what they could for their clan, and the best for their honor. It also happened to those who were far too powerful for their own good.

But Spartan and him no longer chatted like they used to, ringing the empty halls of the Yautja Capitol with their jokes and chorus. But, Wolf had turned just as serious as Spartan himself, no longer thinking that the Hunt was just about fun and having the honor to prove they were the best. Wolf knew honor to no bounds. He was willing to die to keep it protected to anything that tried to prove him wrong.

Even if it involved the death of his own clan mate, someone he had promised to protect since the start of time, the time of being blooded, he would protect his honor. The time he killed his first Xenomorph and was looked well upon by the rest of his clan. He had honor and respect then, and he wasn't going to lose it for some silly mistake.

But Wolf had a lot ahead of him, and he was willing to face it like he always did. An "I" was the only letter in "Team" now. And he wasn't going to get drilled to the point that he could no longer fight for his honor.

Because then, his honor would be gone just as fast as his life, and he would be a bad blood, and his entire world, everything he ever trained for would have turned around. But Wolf took no need as he approached the Refinery. All of those days with Spartan, Claw, and Dark were over now.

It was time to get his honor back.


Desolation stumbled upon the Hive, where they were simply resting and sitting there. The male Warrior Dome spun his head around to look at the female Praetorian that the dead offensive Warrior Ridged had accused the name of Suffer. Slowly, the smaller serpent crawled over to the much larger alien.

Turning down to look at the smaller Xenomorph, Suffer almost seemed to let out an exclamation, with what Desolation could not have read, but then her faced dulled like a road flat with tire marks when she saw he was the only one standing there.

"Where are the others, Desolation?" snarled Suffer as she flicked her tail impatiently at the male Warrior.

"Dead," he growled, as he lashed his own tail. "Two of them were finished off by the humans."

This seemed to catch her attention. "There were four of you that went, and if only two of them were killed by the Marines, what happened to the third one?"

Desolation made a sound that sounded similar to a swallow. "She attacked me, thought that their deaths were my fault. If I hadn't, neither of us, me and her, would be standing here."

But the Praetorian seemed to hang on this conversation longer than Desolation seemed to want. "What did you do?" she asked softly, but it was not a note of love and warmth in her voice. At the edge of her words, rage and fury crept into them like a disease, ready to rot.

This only made Desolation feel worse. "I had to kill her, Suffer! She would have killed me if I stood there and let her fight me!"

Suffer rose to her feet, menacing and tall like a giant, and she rained down upon the smaller Warrior Dome, making him fly across the sand dunes until he hit a rock, making hi squeal with surprise and pain. He lifted slowly to his feet, and then lashed his tail, not without fear, but no understanding.

"You've killed plenty of betraying Xenomorphs in your time! I get lashed because it was me this time around?" he spat.

"No," snapped the elder serpent, as she flicked her claws at the smaller Warrior who was hissing with might. "The fact that you couldn't save one of them is my issue."

This did not improve Desolation's case, but he did seem to cool off, a little. "Fine," he growled as he spun around and he plopped down. "Let the others take their fill," he added. "I ate before I arrived."

Suffer only snorted before she turned around and stalked back to the rest of the horde who were waiting for the rest of their food to be offered for them. Desolation glanced down at the scratch that raked down his side, and he grimaced in pain. A trickle of green acid blood was falling down his side slowly, but he ignored it.

He then could hear the sound of the other Xenomorphs eating their food, and he growled underneath his breath. He sat up and he padded back to the rest of the Hive, no longer feeling rage like he used to but he was still annoyed, and he splat down on his side, watching the Warriors eating their meal.

At least this meant they could move on soon. They had let the Predator slip away while they were in the human complex, and they knew he would be on the move making his way to his next target. But they hadn't been moving the slightest bit, and he knew that it would take them a while to catch up. After all, they could not perform a rush on him. That would not work out too well.

Desolation watched Suffer survey the savage Warriors as they tackled each other for a slab of food, and Desolation would be doing the same if he hadn't eaten on his way back. It saved the horde some more food anyway. This number of human kills would do them for at least a week with everyone getting a fair amount of food to fuel themselves.

The slim serpent turned his head to glance backwards at the Hive even though his head was opaque. He slivered forward, before he approached Suffer for a second time.

"I think we should move now, Suffer," said Desolation as he looked up at his leader. "We need to stay on the hunter's heels, or we may not get a choice but to wait for him to circle back."

Suffer seemed to let off a growl, but it was paused when she shot her inner jaw several times out to consider. "Very well then, Desolation." She turned around and then she was no longer addressing him since she rose her voice high above the squeals of the other serpents. "Carry the food on the larger Warriors! We're moving!"

Desolation made a symbol on his mouth that could be considered a smile by some, but then he frowned again as he tumbled to his legs and he bounced after the remaining Warriors who were slipping out after the Praetorian.

Racing across the landscape, the Warrior Dome watched the older Praetorian bound to a stop and raise her tail as a signal for the rest of them to do the same. Desolation crawled in next to her, and he sniffed the air with his sharp sense of smell.

And he picked up a scent.

And there he was, Wolf, crawling across the floor, making his way for the entrance to the Refinery. Desolation could tell that the Hunter was cloaked, but that made him no more subtle for the serpents to detect. They could clearly smell him and knew exactly where he was.

Suffer noticed him as well, even though her sense of smell was slightly worse than the rest of the horde, and then she growled and lashed her tail. "It's that pathetic hunter! He seems to be heading for the Refinery for information on the humans. We will devise a plan, then we will go in after him to see what we can find of this place."

Desolation bounded over next to the female serpent to see what she had in mind. Several other more intrigued warriors did the same as he did. Suffer tilted her head and waited for the rest of them to gather around before she started.

"Last time we saw the hunter as an entire horde," growled Suffer. "We let him get away and he slipped off into the trees. We did not know his plans, but we do now. He has gone looking for information to his Clan, information we may or may not prize or value, but some of it may give away some of our secrets not even the Yautja know about."

She paused before continuing. "We are going in there in groups of five, each of us, and we are going to sneak through the vents to gain access to the others room in the Refinery. This will gain us an advantage over the hunter and we will distract him and whatever humans are in there, and we will kill upon necessary."

"Are you going in there?" asked a Drone, flicking his own tail.

"Yes," replied Suffer. "It'll be harder for me to be unnoticed the first few minutes of our engagement, but we might be able to pull this off if everything runs smoothly. Any questions?"

There was a silence that followed her question, showing that they clearly understood.

"Good," she snarled, as he lashed her tail and swat her inner jaw out of her mouth several times. "We can organize the groups."


Wolf was nearly at the entrance of the Refinery. He hadn't seen the Xenomorphs on the hill, but he really wasn't aware at the moment. He was near his goal and now was slipping inside.

But when he usually heard the sounds of a faint hum or human footsteps, the place was quiet.

Too quiet.

He narrowed his eyes as he filed into the large research lab and then he turned on his Alien Vision, a new visor of green filing his field of vision. But he saw nothing. Not a human body, not a serpent, not a drain of blood, and neither did her hear sounds anywhere in the whole Refinery.

Something wasn't right.

Wolf glared down the many long hallways of the Refinery and he held his breath as he slipped into the next room. Glancing backwards at the room he just left, he thought he heard something back there. Something big. Something menacing.

But he thought he maybe was hearing things when the room went back to dead silence. This wasn't going by unnoticed, but nor was he going to investigate yet. If he heard a noise behind him again, he would start looking around.

Going deeper down into the Refinery, Wolf felt a new wave of unease as he approached the next floor below him. Elevators and long walkways were shining down the very essence of this place, and it usually was full of humans or androids.

But now it only seemed like a dead quiet was seeping in his ears. And this wasn't making him any more comforted than before he even arrived here.

He entered the next room and then he nearly stumbled backwards with the sight that he saw. A stench of rot and decay filtered through his nose, and then he let out a hoarse growl as he stood taller and he glared back down at the hole that he had once looked into from the next room over.

Bodies. Hundreds and hundreds of dead, rotten human bodies, pelted with blood and wounds, were tumbled all over deep pit, making the entire floor unseen by where the Wolf Predator sat. And normally, the Predator would not feel this much disgust.

But these humans were just dead looking. That seemed odd to say, since they were, but usually, a human has a ring in his eyes, a thrill of love and constancy, a gleam of hope and pride, but now they just looked dead. None of this was exploit in any way.

No, there was a sight in the eyes of these humans. A sight that Wolf saw commonly when he finished off human prey.

Fear. Fear shown in the eyes of the humans. Not in a way that Wolf saw often. It wasn't like a look of fear in death. It was a look of fear in not being torn apart and ripped open, slap jawed and broken.

Wolf felt another wave of discomfort when he struggled backwards. But then he heard it. A terrifying roar echoed over the once quiet Refinery, and Wolf darted for cover when he heard heavy, massive footprints making its way down the tunnel.

No, he knew it was not the footprints of a Xenomorph. They ran with much more grace. This was something new because it was not, for sure, a human Marine that managed to live and could let off a roar like that.

Wolf had observed humans well, and he was smart enough to say for himself that humans could speak and let off efficient sounds with their mouths, but not roars or clicks, hisses and snarls. That really just seemed too unrealistic, even for the Yautja himself.

And then he saw it as he cloaked in the corner, huddled and closing his mouth for silent breaths to filter out.

It was at least eight feet tall, and it had three arms and looked like a human, but it had distinct features that could display cleearly that it wasn't. It had jet red hair, or what was left of it, and claws on the end of its hands.

And it seemed to be making a sound that Wolf compared to… human crying?

Wolf stepped out of the corner, cloaked so the beast that had revealed himself could still not see him, and then he lifted up his arm bracer and then uncloaked, so the creature that was there could now look upon him.

And whatever it was, it looked up.

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER

Desolation darted into the tunnel, and then he glanced behind him to see Suffer doing the same thing. Three other serpents were behind them, and Suffer gathered the rest of her skill and climbing talents and brushed past the Warrior Dome.

The Xenomorphs had split up into the groups just like they had said. Desolation had offered to be with Suffer, and as surprised as the smaller serpent was, she had agreed along with the three other warriors that was with them.

Suffer was now leading the way again, and Desolation didn't hesitate to listen to her orders. After all, it was the least he could do, letting the last serpents die last mission. But he could tell that their argument was done, and he was glad.

He really didn't like to argue all too well.

Not really something that peaked his interest.

He slipped into the corridors, when he heard a loud roar make the vents shake around, and this caused some squeals to occur among the Xenomorphs. Suffer glanced around as if trying to pick up a scent but catching none.

Desolation barreled forward and he lashed out at the vents with his claws before slipping out and then landing square on the ground with his delicate toes. He glanced back to see Suffer following him, her pace describing clearly her unease.

The other three warriors also had leaped out after them and they were not dashing their way across the Refinery, heading in the direction that was opposite to the way that the noise was made. Desolation then halted and he glanced around, trying to find some exit.

There! He dashed up and he clung onto the wall and he climbed into the next pairs of vents that he was sure not affected by the roar, and then as he slipped his tail in to follow him, he heard a pair of claws bash on the side of the vents, clearly Suffer, and then the rest of the Warriors.

Now, after crawling in a little deeper into a corner of the vents, the five serpents were panting and out of breath.

"What was that?" asked the female warrior, shaken up well and lashing her tail with unease.

"Who knows, but shut up, will you?" retorted another female who seemed pretty riled up herself. "We don't want it to hear us, because guess who would be left for bait? You would!"

"If you want to be quiet, I suggest you shut your inner jaws!" snarled Suffer, then silence fell upon the warriors.

Pausing, Desolation crawled by the rest of the Xenomorphs in his patrol and he glanced his head in several directions to pick up noise, in which he was getting none as well as Suffer's attempts. He then padded back to the rest of his patrol, who were huddled in the corner and waiting for something to happen.

And nothing did.

"This is great," whispered the first warrior who had spoken since they arrived. "We don't know what it is and we can't even find it. This is perfect."

"Shut up!" roared Desolation, and the female warrior bowed her head, not in respect, but annoyance, and then she shut her mouth.

Feeling pleased enough with that, he continued to let the silence live on in the serpents as they waited for something else to come by, or a signal that it was clear.

"I'll check it out," whispered Suffer as she turned around and started to make her way to the opening in the vents, but Desolation darted forward and then scratched to a stop.

"Wait, we don't know if it's safe yet!" he barked. "Stay here with us until we are sure whatever it was has moved on!"

Suffer, for once in her life that Desolation has seen, gave him a sympathetic look for several moments, but then the calm look dissolved from her face like sugar in water.

"I have to, Desolation," she growled. "Stay here and wait for me. If I don't come back in the next few hours, run."

And then she was gone.

Desolation flicked his tail. A few hours? What was she planning to do, scale the entire Refinery inside and out? But he walked back to the group and he paused and waited for her return.

More hunger seeped at his belly, but he remained still and decided it would be better if he were to curl up and go to sleep along with the rest of his kin. It would carry the few hours on evenly enough, he was sure.


Back at the Council of the Yautja, Guardian Predator looked among the rest of his kin, his mandibles stretched out and glaring at Dark and Claw as they hung in chains at the end of the hall.

"You claim that Wolf was not the one responsible for the death in Revenge, but Wolf had no evidence other than his own word to defend himself. Why is this?" asked Guardian, with a growl and a click of his mandibles.

"You know Wolf!" shouted Dark as he staggered to his legs in the dangling chain. "You earned his loyalty since the start of his training at a New Blood under our gods! But you sent him to rot among a worthless trail of shame!"

"He could not defend himself, Dark," added a new Yautja, one that went by the name of Coyote. "He had to face the path that was fair."

"That's just the issue, Coyote of the Council," said Claw as he twitched his mandibles. "None of the actions that Spartan gave towards Wolf was fair."

"Silence!" snarled the center Predator, raising his fist and slamming it into the counter to silence those around him. "Do not speak out of turn, Bad Bloods!"

That was when the youngest looking Yautja spoke. "You two have risen chaos among the Chapel. You frighten children and Young Bloods that the crime with be committed again. How can you be trusted?"

"It was an accident, Prophet," coolly replied Dark. "We were getting chased by a massive Xenomorph unlike any other. If you actually would watch what was on our bio-masks, you would see that Wolf wasn't even there!"

The center Yautja let out a massive snarl towards Dark, who slid backwards in alarm. "We have discussed this before. Until the Third Management our Laws Decree, there will not be any viewing of the bio-masks because they could be edited and self-did. And we will not allow lies to slip since we do not have the Third Management up and stable."

"And how long does that take, Infectious?" growled Claw.

"Years," responded the leader of the Yautja Council, with a click of his mandibles. Infectious looked back towards the rest of the Council, who seemed to be scowling themselves. "You have yet to prove your innocence, and even later to get your bio-masks viewed. Your evidence forfeits itself."

"We are honorable, Infectious of the Ancients," snapped Claw. "We do not lie like those in the past. Give us a chance, and you will see that you are wrong as you stand before me and Dark."

"No!" screamed the Ancient, swiping his long, red cape over his shoulder and glaring at the other two Yautja. "It had been done for the day. Go back to your cellars with an escort from Coyote and Guardian. We will see this conversation another day. Gods praise that you are not actually guilty and not lying to us."

Dark and Claw glared at the Ancient as he turned around and he walked back into a door that was directly behind his spot in the Council. Dark saw Guardian and Coyote leave their stands and join the two other hunters as they stood there, chained.

Coyote bent down and used the key to unlock the floor chains from the feet of the Yautja and then followed by the hand chains. Clipping their hands behind their backs, the four Yautja made a way for the door and they headed down the hall.

Dark snorted as he was shoved into his own cellar, but Claw was not the same. He slammed his right foot heavily on the ground, making Guardian leap backwards in surprise.

"What are you doing, Bad Blood?" he snapped.

"I will not go back in that cellar for an accident and know that Wolf is out there fighting for information that is too risky to find for something he didn't do!" Claw growled.

So distracted, Coyote had forgotten about locking up the chains to Dark's door, and the hunter crawled out of the cage and snatched the plasma castor right off Coyote's back, making the Yautja snarl in surprise and anger.

"Give that back, Blooded!" snarled the Elite warrior with a growl. "If you kill us here like you did to Revenge, you will be sorry!"

"I didn't kill Revenge," taunted Dark as he took several steps backwards to the approaching Predator who seemed to have steam practically rising off of his shoulders. "So I'm not going to kill you, either."

The elder hunter snarled and darted forward, but Claw was quick to react for his friend. Rushing by Guardian, Claw slammed Coyote and made the older Yautja fall to the ground, and then wriggled free from Guardian's oncoming grasp.

"Quickly, Dark, run!" Claw growled as he slipped free and pelted up the stairs, with Dark not far behind him. They were deep underneath the ground, but they knew their way around plenty. They were not going to get lost down here.

Making a break for the higher doors, the two escaping hunters tumbled their way across cell after cell, then finally burst into a full sprint, being followed by Coyote and Guardian, who were hollering for them to stop.

But these two Blooded Hunters had learned from the best.

Making a right turn down another chamber, the two friends gathered up their running speed and then they suddenly stopped. With as much power and speed that Coyote and Guardian earned, they felt the sense to stop as well, but reacted much worse.

Tumbling to the floor, the two of the Council let out clicks and growls of hate as the younger Yautja were dashing down the corridors and making a streak for the next door.

Then they burst into open air.

Dashing down the streets of the Yautja Capitol, many hunters, male and female alike, were strolling down the plentiful aisles. But this made Dark and Claw no slower and then they dipped into an alley, away from the rest of the society.

Making a pause behind one of the garbage shoots, Dark and Claw crouched over in robes that looked like convict clothing. Glancing back towards Dark, Claw narrowed his yellow, glistening eyes at his friend. "Are you alright?"

Dark turned and nodded at the other hunter. "Glad we escaped."

"What do you suggest we do now?" asked the slightly elder warrior with a dip of his dreads from his shoulder. "We will be hunted by Infectious all over the city until we are found."

This made Dark pause. "I say we go after Wolf. We need to tell him the plans of the Council and what they are going to make him do when he returns to the Capitol. But I have no clue on where he would be."

"We have trackers on our bio-masks to make sure that we stay alive so we can send our ships back to study their findings," remembered Claw. "If we find his tracker and we make for it, we might be able to stop him before it's too late."

"Alright then, but where will we find this thing?" asked Dark.

"It has to be somewhere in the hands of Infectious himself."