A/N: fuck this took me a long time to write. forgive me. pleeeeeease forgive me. i'm gonna try this: i will try my best to update this fic once a month, and if possible, twice a month, because my life is growing busier by the minute. i've been enjoying my summer vacation, and school will start for me at the end of August, which means i'll be even busier. so...i hope that i can update this fic more often because i love it so, and refuse to end it suddenly.

so i bring you the latest chapter before i go back to enjoying the rest of my summer vacation :)

excuse any typos D:

i do not own Aliens or Predators; the characters unfamiliar to the novels, comics, games, movies, etc. are all mine.

Message Ten: Rescued

Landing in the same spot as they had left, the Yautja group made sure that their cloaking devices were on and their weapons ready to attack anything that got in their way. Thankful that Wolf had installed a piece of the tracking device inside their wrist-comps, they were able to keep an eye on Heather's whereabouts. With their cloaks on, the six of them looked about the rooftop for any sign of their human comrade before they took off into the city itself. Adamantine stood with a hand on her hip, intentionally pouting at the fact that she could hardly see anything through the neon signs and city smog. She wrinkled the area where a nose might be; these cursed lights gave off a lot of heat, and with the people just below them, she was having a hard time making out which was which.

She also sensed that the irritation was mirroring onto Razor, as she heard him let out a frustrated grunt. Growing irritated herself, Adamantine switched to electric vision, not really understanding the point of it, and then switched to Yautja vision, increasing her impatience, and just switching it off to normal vision. If they were going to find their friend, it was going to be difficult.

("Cursed lights...") Grinder rumbled. ("how do these oomans even see around here?")

("Their vision is quite different from ours.") Razor replied simply, looking at the bigger Yautja oddly.

("I am well aware of that...") Grinder replied. ("I was stating that there are so many absurd lights in this place that you could probably see this blasted city all the way from home.")

Razor nodded and sighed, silently agreeing with him. He then felt a pat on the shoulder and turned to see his father looking down on him, his white outline only available through the eyes of Razor's mask. ("You have been strangely quiet throughout this whole trip--") He began, though was briefly interrupted by a loud snort and smirk from Grinder. ("--what is wrong?")

("If by 'quiet', he means 'screaming like a kainde amedha', then he's right on the spot...") Grinder muttered to Bleeder, who replied with a rumble of amusement.

Razor gestured angrily and stepped forth. ("Nothing. Heather just saved our lives and I am eager to repay the dept.")

("Is that all it is? A dept?") He heard his sibling speak, causing him to turn and face her. ("Do you not think of her as a friend? A comrade? I have not even had the honor of conversing with her properly and yet I feel as if she is as close to me as a sister.") The white Yautja spoke, turning to him fully now.

Razor cocked a brow. ("Of course I do.")

Adamantine smirked and shook her head. ("Of course. You're just too lazy to mention it.")

("Whatever.")

("Alright,") Wolf interrupted, examining his wrist-comp. ("I have a reading. Do you all have the same?")

The other five Yaujtas flipped on their wrist-comps and examined the signature, automatically deeming it as their human friend. What would have been Heather showed up as a small red dot among veiny green lines that was a map, and her signature was not staying put, but rather moving...fast.

("She is moving rather quickly.") Neon spoke up.

("She's running from something.") Grinder piped, closing the map and looking up. ("We need to hurry or she might get herself killed.")

("Do not forget, there are many possibilities concerning as to why she called us.") Wolf warned them. ("Do not be surprised if we are misled and find her in Borgia's custody. Be prepared for the unexpected, understand?")

The youths nodded simultaneously, and they were off. Razor wanted to remove his mask due to the bright lights, but knew it would serve him no better. As he and the others traversed the rooftops, all six Yautja thought they caught a familiar scent. Taking it as a clue, they followed it, avoiding the authorities and, of course, officers from Borgia Industries. Finding Heather would be easier than necessary with the tracking device, but as Wolf had said, she could be anywhere, and anyone could have snatched up her metal bracelet.

Stopping abruptly at the edge of a roof, causing Razor and Grinder to smack right into her, Adamantine froze in place as if she was turned to stone. Grinder spluttered a curse for 'running into her female backside', while the others stared at her dubiously.

("What are you doing??") Razor demanded. ("We are going to lose her if we don't--")

Adamantine lifted a hand and held it up, silencing him on the spot, as she turned her head sharply to look at the others. ("Do you not hear that?")

("Hear wh--")

Before Razor could answer, he understood - he did hear something, screaming and monsterous shrieking, utter panic not too far away. Wolf stepped ahead and attempted to see something for himself, as he switched his mask to electric vision; the screen turning red, awaiting any blue forms to appear. And, almost like an act of providence, popped in one of the blue figures.

Wolf let out a growl under his breath and extended his wrist-blades. ("It appears we have unexpected guests.") He said, and then without question, leaped from the building and onto another, speeding to his target.

("What is he talking about?") Bleeder asked, scratching the back of his head.

("Holy c'jit...") Grinder and Razor snapped together.

Ordering the others to switch their masks' vision, they were finally able to see what had disrupted Wolf; there were dozens of them, not a very large number, but enough to swarm the place, already attacking pedestrians here and there, and they were all pouring from a particular bar shoved off into the corner in the city called House Of Wolves, the very creatures that Razor and his comrades had seen captured and experimented on inside the Borgia labratories.

Kainde Amedha. Xenomorphs.

How did so many get out here? That was his first thought. He knew that there were probably only four or five held inside the labratories, but these weren't incapacitated, they showed no signs of experimental alterations, they looked brand new, as if just spawned. This concerned him greatly, and he could sense the same feeling radiating from the other four. What if...what if a Xeno got ahold of Heather? What if her lifeless body was being dragged off somewhere to be fed on?

Roaring aloud, Razor and the others hesitated no longer in bearing their weapons and following Wolf, suddenly feeling the need to smell some Xeno blood on the ground. They kept their cloaks on while infiltrating the bar, not wanting to cause anymore panic among the civillians, as they fired left and right with their plasmacasters, sliced here and there with their wrist-blades.

The four younger males were a little disappointed at this; they had only just escaped from their own hell, and now it seemed that they were heading straight into another, and all for one small human that they felt the need to repay a dept to. But this made all four of them wonder...what would they do once this 'dept' was repaid? Leave her to her own duties? What about Borgia? They would continue pursuing her, and they couldn't keep acting as her bodyguards.

So what would they do once this was over?

("Razor!!") The pale Yautja flipped around and caught his father heading for a back door, the elder gesturing impatiently for them to follow.

Retrieving their weapons from a Xeno carcass, the five followed Wolf through a back door and into a storage room, and here, is where Wolf stopped. Kneeling to the floor and running his scaly palm over the ground, he looked up to another hallway that supposidly lead out of the bar. He then balled his hand into a fist and rose, checking his wrist-comp.

("Heather was here not too long ago.") He spoke, a flicker of hope erupting from the youths. ("She is not far ahead, hurry!")

Not waiting up, the five of them bolted forward, nearly leaving Wolf behind, as they grew ever anxious to find their friend, hoping that Heather was alive and not in bloody clumps of flesh.

Heather didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. Her body ached, her head throbbed, her legs were sore, her arms and hands were beginning to cramp, she was sweating more than she thought she ever would, and her eyes were burning like hell. She felt like hell. And she was almost out of ammo. She was also tired of hearing Kelly shout 'We're almost there' every few minutes. Heather didn't even know the kid, but she was mostly concerned about Molly's safety; a child in the midst of such chaos was a pinnacle of massacre, torture, and anything else that Heather could think of that went along the lines of 'child abuser'.

She grit her teeth as she reloaded her last clip and continued firing into the carnage behind them. There was no point in hiding now, since they were well out in the open and more focused on surviving from the Xenos chasing after them. Heather was beginning to lose hope, she had pressed the button on her metal bracelet thirty minutes ago, and yet her Yautja comrades hadn't shown up. Were they ignoring her? Did they miss the call? Were they still on their way? Whatever the explanation was, she knew that they were dead if they didn't find shelter soon.

Dallas was still in bad condition, with what Heather imagined as acid burning on his shoulder. If he didn't get medical treatment soon...

"Come on!" Kelly called back again. "It's one more block!"

"I don't think we'll make another block!" Heather retorted, seeing that she only had three bullets left.

Saving them, she retracted her arm and focused on running. That was it. Just keep running. She was good at running. She'd done it before, and she could do it again. Just run.

She could run...but she could not hold it up forever.

Her feet were not prepared for running this long, and she knew she was going to have dozens of blisters when this was over. If she would live to see it over. Despite all the slaughter, Heather could see a few people here and there, mainly more Matadores, chasing after the young fugitive. This pissed her off a great deal even though her fear was clouding it. They were still determined to get that reward. If she wasn't running for her life, then she would gladly turn and fill them full of lead.

But instead, she went with the more logical choice; to keep fucking running.

She hadn't even been able to stop and check on her feline companion, to whom she knew was immensely agitated at being slung up and down from Heather's rigorous sprinting. Luna was more than likely thirsting to death, and sweating just like herself, no doubt.

Where the hell were Razor and his group?! That was her constant thought. If there was ever a time for an emergency, Heather guessed, it was now. She suddenly felt angry at herself for not notifying them sooner, otherwise she possibly could have avoided this event. She should have contacted them when she first found out about this Kelly, then they might be here by now. But would that have kept them from getting here any sooner? She thought not. They were either ignoring her or still on their way. She hoped the first option was not the case.

She didn't want them to find her corpse lying in an alley somewhere. She wanted to see them one last time if she were to die soon. She wanted to see her human friends again, even if they were ratting her out. She wanted to see all her friends again. But...even with the fringe of hope inside her, she sensed that that wish might not get granted.

"We're close!" Kelly shouted again.

They were getting farther from the disaster, which relieved the girl greatly, seeing as they might actually have a chance. They were almost there. Heather bit the inside of her lip in anticipation. She might actually make it. Clutching her pistol in her hand, she sped up her running, wanting to catch up with Kelly and Dallas. Damn if that man could run while injured so badly.

Leaping onto a sidewalk while following Kelly, Heather could see the area that she had told her about; it was next to the Serviteurs' church, but well fortified, even though it was a halfway demolished building. No one was going near it, or entering or leaving it for that matter. This area seemed much more calm, seeing as they were far away from the bar now and closing in on their haven. Heather nearly felt giddy in all her excitement, until...

Like so many times before, Heather was yanked from the street with a hand clasped over her mouth to prevent screaming, inevitably causing her to drop her pistol as an opposite strong arm wrapped tightly around her smaller form. For a moment, Heather felt relief and imagined it was Razor or Wolf, until she realized that this malefactor was no alien.

She immediately stopped flailing when she felt the edge of a knife press against her neck, and looked up to find the dark face of a Serviteur grinning down at her. Her innards writhed at this; was this to be her fate? Molested by a voodoo creep instead of being eaten alive by a monstorous creature? ...She seemed to lean towards the first option.

"I'm gonna die...oh, Jesus, I'm gonna die..." She thought, tears suddenly spilling down her cheeks.

"Not a sound," The man spoke, his Jamaican accent hurting her ears. "or I'll have your throat."

Before he could make another move, Heather heard the man abruptly howl in pain, followed by a thick ripping and snapping sound, and the loud thud of his body hitting the ground. Lead to believe this was Razor a second time, Heather flipped around and smiled, though her expression fell quickly when she saw no Yautja standing, but a skeletal black figure advancing on her, bearing its white teeth.

She was about to fire, though suddenly realized that she was a brainless twit for dropping her only weapon. Her chest rose and fell violently as she slowly backed into the corner, knowing that this creature would not hesitate to spare her life. Her back soon hit the wall, the dead end, as she slid down to the ground helplessly, whimpering and sobbing, not taking her eyes off of the thing that would soon end her life.

Then, she thought. She was sorry. Sorry that now, Razor and Adamantine might not find Kelly. Sorry for Molly, Kelly, and Dallas, for they may have their safe-houses, but they may not last long with this infestation running amock. Sorry for her little feline, Luna, for not being able to protect her. Sorry for everything she caused.

Whatever the case, she knew no one would hear her or save her now. The carnage was far behind, Kelly and the others were surely inside their building by now, and...Razor...what of him and his group? She'd never know now. Knowing that she wouldn't even put up a good fight against this demon, Heather sat and sobbed quietly, awaiting her fate.

The Xeno hissed and was now mere inches from her face, as it reeled back and opened its mouth, ready to pierce a hole into her skull. Heather closed her eyes and looked away.

Before she knew it, she heard another loud snapping noise, followed by ripping, hissing, and then the sound of a slimy body hitting the ground. Heather didn't want to take anymore risks, so instead of jumping up in excitement, she very slowly opened her eyes to look up and see who her next 'savior'was. And, despite all her fear, all her rage, her anxiety, her determination, her vulnerability...she only felt one emotion right about now: happiness.

Hovering over her lithe form, was the pale Yautja she wished to see among the other five. There he was, suddenly, saving her from what she'd imagined to be her final confrontation, was Razor, his wrist-blades extended and dripping in acidic Xeno blood. Heather felt on the brink of collapsing completely.

("You know, you should really stop acting so selfless sometimes; it's a good way to get yourself killed.") Was all he said.

He offered a hand to her, but instead, she leaped off the ground in a second and latched her arms around his neck, not even noticing the other four youths appearing behind him. Growing uncomfortable, (and an unwanted amount of blush) Razor froze in place and let Heather cling for the moment until it was out of her system. He patted her back once or twice, though figured that was enough for now.

Pulling away and looking through the eyes of his mask, Heather made the happiest face she thought she could make, until it faded into annoyance all of a sudden. Twisting her lips into an irritated sneer, the human girl took her fist and slammed it against his chest rapidly.

("What are you doing?") He snapped, grabbing her wrists. ("What's the matter with you?!")

Heather let out a much needed gasp of air before screaming, "I thought you weren't coming for me!"

Razor raised a brow underneath his mask, as the others looked at her quietly. Razor seemed irritated, but the others felt how she was at the moment. They couldn't blame her for thinking they weren't coming, it had taken them over forty minutes to arrive. Releasing her wrists and hesitating a moment, waiting to see if she'd punch him again, Razor looked down on her as if he was looking for injuries, and was quite relieved that he found none.

("Thank the gods you're uninjured!") Adamantine piped from behind.

"Yes, I'm relieved myself." The girl chuckled nervously.

("We told you we'd come back, didn't we?") Razor said as if it was obvious. Heather just smiled up at him. ("Come on. If we're going to get you to safety then we need to hurry.")

"Wait!" Heather yelped, halting them. "I've found Kelly, you have to follow me first!"

Razor and Adamantine exchanged quick glances before looking back to the girl desperately. ("You've found her? Are you certain?") Razor demanded.

"I don't know what your idea if Kelly looks like, the one I found has curly caramel hair, brown eyes, tan tank-top..." She tried to explain.

The siblings' eyes widened underneath their masks. ("That's her!!") Adamantine barked.

"I know where she went, so follow me." Heather said, and they nodded in agreement.

("Once we find her, we need to find a place for you to stay safely.") Razor snarled at her, obviously from protection.

Heather grinned faintly, leading them out of the alley. "...I missed your sarcasm."

Razor snorted. ("...So I don't have to come down here and rescue your pipsqueak ass every day.")

Heather laughed.

A/N: whew, well, there you have it. it's a little short, but at least i got it done XD tell me how i'm doing, and i promise i'll update as quick as i can! as always, thank you everyone who has continued reading and reviewing this story! it gives me reason to continue! :D