Author's Note: The shit is hitting the fan, folks! Aren't you excited? We're excited. This is the turning point of the story! Life will get much more angsty and depressing! But still awesome, hopefully. And we can be done with these silly "no killing things" chapters. Whoo!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, in the later books, is angsty. We don't own him. Or this! ^_^

!#)(&%_(!&#%!(#&(!#$!#$*!(#%*_!#&%(!#*%_!#&%!#^!#%*_#&(%!_#(&$(!#)*_!#)(&

Chapter 10: One Plus One Does NOT Equal Five

Evie scowled out the window, then turned back to Marie. "Marie, honey, we really need to find a way to leave those creeps behind."

Marie spared a quick glance over. "But, why? They're our friends!"

Evie crossed her arms. "No. They're NOT. They are human hunting, killing machines! It doesn't sound like a good relationship to be in!"

"But, they haven't hurt US yet."

"There's that 'Yet' again. Marie, they're STUDYING US. Haven't you seen the way Martello watches us? And records everything? We're lab rats! And what happens to lab rats? They DIE. Usually PAINFULLY."

Marie slumped. "But, we're almost home… I wanted to show them our home…"

Evie shook her head. "Like they would even understand what it means to be home! Look at what it's become! Our home is nothing but dust, ash, blood and ruins! And I will bet you ANYTHING that THEY had something to do with it!"

Marie looked about ready to cry. "Nuhuh! They KILL the Spiders! Just like we do!"

Evie sighed. "You'll see. I KNOW I'm right."

!)#(%&!_$!&(#%*!_&!_#($*!_#&%#)(*%!_(%!_#$&%!_#*($!#&(%_(!*#_%!(%&!_#$(!#)(%&!_

Dho'mago'te was worried. Dai'za'te and Faru'qi were being very unwise. They were taking a large road into a town, pushing other transporters out of the way. He and Tvrtko had been slaughtering Kainde Amedha right and left, to keep them from attacking the females.

The Ooman village was on a very flat plain, with some hills. It went on for awhile, the buildings low compared to the tall structures in the larger villages that Dho'mago'te and Tvrtko had seen in their territory. It seemed much smaller and quieter.

He also didn't approve of the stops that Dai'za'te and Faru'qi insisted on making. They had made three stops, wandering into large buildings, looking about, and he and Tvrtko had been forced to kill Kainde Amedha to keep them safe. There had been far too many close calls.

And the two females kept swerving all about the village. They normally went in a straight line to their location, but this time they seemed to have no idea where they were going.

Finally, much to his and Tvrtko's relief, Dai'za'te and Faru'qi went on a straight path again. They left the village behind, only to enter another, smaller one, a short ways away. This time, the females went on a distinct path, one it seemed they'd traveled before.

The ended up on a small road that had only one entrance and they stopped their transporter outside one specific Ooman dwelling. Dho'mago'te watched intently as Dai'za'te and Faru'qi got out. Dai'za'te seemed… different. This bore investigating.

!#_%)(&!$^!%&$_(!#&%_!)(#%^#%*!_#)(%&*#$!&$_!#)(%&)!#($!&#_%!)$!_!&#%*)(!_#

Marie and Evie looked up at the crumbling structure. Some bricks were missing from the front and shingles from the roof. Marie was quiet, staring at the house and yet staring past it. Suddenly, Martello and Ninja appeared next to them.

Martello gently tugged on Marie's hair, his usual greeting to her. Marie waved his hand away. "Not today, Martello. I don't feel so good."

The red behemoth quirked his head. Reaching down, he pulled a dead squirrel from his belt and held it out to Marie. She looked and smiled wanly, taking the gift. "Thanks."

Evie reached out, touching Marie's shoulder. "Are you sure you're ready to go in? We can wait longer."

Marie just nodded and started forward. "The garage door is still open. I should fix that."

Evie sighed. "There is no garage door. We took it off running away."

"Oh yeah…"

The two went into the garage, up some steps, and into the house. Marie stopped in the laundry room, looking about. "It's like I never left. Maybe Mom and Dad came home. And Mark and Susie came home. We can all go and have dinner together! Maybe get the sushi party platter. Or hibachi. Mark will eat anything."

Evie looked as well and winced. The once pristine space was covered in dust and cracked tiles. It was obvious to her that no one had been in here since last summer. She sighed. "Maybe they did. I'm sure they'd love to go have dinner."

But Marie had wandered off, drifting like a ghost through the huge house. She went around a corner and into her parent's room. The master bedroom was faded from the sunlight that had come through the windows for the past two years, but Marie paid it no mind.

She went into the bathroom, then into the closet. Evie found Marie riffling through old dresses. Marie turned and smiled, holding a faded red one. "Look, Evie! This is the dress that Mommy wore to that ball! She was so pretty. Wasn't Mommy pretty? I wonder where she is. Her favorite sweater is still here! Maybe she went to get coffee."

Evie nodded. "Yes. Your mom was very pretty."

Marie beamed and put the dress back, gently stroking the satin. Marie wandered off, back into the room, over to a small bedside table. It was strewn with small, broken items. She gently picked up a small plate, only a few inches across. "I gave this to Mommy for Mother's Day. It has such a nice poem on it. She really liked it!"

Marie set the porcelain down and set off again into the house, Evie following behind, sighing. "I feel like I'm watching a two-legged puppy..."

Marie stopped in the kitchen, looking in the fridge. She sighed. "Silly Daddy. He forgot to go grocery shopping again. He KNOWS Mommy doesn't like grocery shopping. And Mark and Susie are home, so we need plenty to eat!"

Continuing about the kitchen, Marie stopped at the sink, then looked in the dishwasher. "Oh! That's right. I did the dishes, didn't I? Daddy asked me to. That's why they aren't there!"

Through the first floor it went, room by room. Memories mixing with the present, haunting the old house. Marie finally went into her bedroom, gazing happily at the once bright space. The walls that had once been vibrantly colored with blues and purples, and stars and moons were faded and dingy in the cold sunlight coming in.

Marie ran forward and hopped onto a pristine bed, covered with dust, reaching out and pulling several stuffed animals close. "Hello, my friends! Did you miss me? I missed you! We'll get to sleep together, don't worry!"

Evie stood in the doorway, gazing about the space. There were cracks in the walls and ceiling, one of the windows wasn't looking too good, and all the wood furniture had seen better days. Marie fussed about, and Evie knew she had to get Marie moving.

"Hey, Marie? Don't you want to check downstairs? To see if Mark and Susie are home yet?"

Marie immediately sat up from the bed. "Yeah! Oh, I can't wait to see them again! Mark hardly ever comes home, now that he's in grad school. I think he's getting ready to propose to his girlfriend soon! Did I tell you? He even bought a ring and showed it to me! And Susie got that great job, you know. And I wanted to watch that one movie with her again. She liked it last time!"

Evie quirked an eyebrow. "You mean 'Silence of the Lambs'?"

Marie nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! It's one of the only scary movies she'll watch with me."

The two went down the stairs to the lower level. Evie winced as she saw the enormous blood stain in the carpet near the stairs. Marie passed by it, sniffing. "Evie. We forgot to clean up our spill again. Mom will be mad."

Evie nodded as Marie went into her sister's room. "I'll make sure to tell her that we'll clean it up."

Marie quickly searched through the room, flopping on the bed, pouting. "She's not home yet! She said she'd be home today. Didn't she? I can't remember. Maybe she was coming home tomorrow?"

Evie gently pulled Marie up. "Maybe she did. We'll check the Facebook post she left you, yeah?"

Marie beamed. "You're right! Now, maybe Mark is home. If he is, he's lurking in his room, doing computery things."

Marie skipped off to the other side of the basement, poking her head in another room, before sighing. "He doesn't look like he's home either. Do you think he went out with his friends? He won't be back until late, then. How are we going to play Settlers of Catan together if no one is home?"

Evie shrugged. "I dunno. I'll play Go Fish with you."

Marie nodded. "Maybe later. I'm very sad. Why isn't anyone home? Evie? Where are they? They should be home. I miss them."

Evie wrapped an arm around Marie, steering her out of the room. "Come on. Let's go outside. We have work to do."

Marie frowned. "Do I have to clean the dog run again? And did Daddy shanghai you into doing it with me?"

Evie smiled softly. "Not quite."

!_%&(!%*!_#(%#$&(^!_#%(*!#(%&!(&!#(*%^!*&(%!#(%!_#&%*!#_$&!#%_*#_$)!#&_$)#(

Evie and Marie slipped out the backdoor, strolling towards the woods, when something clattered behind them. Blinking, they both looked up and spotted Martello and Ninja peering at them from the dilapidated roof.

Evie frowned. "What are YOU twits doing? Get off of there; you're going to break something."

Evie turned away and continued leading Marie away into the woods as Martello and Ninja landed and followed them. Evie stopped again, just before the trees. Facing the two aliens, she frowned, pointing at them. "Look, you freaks. STAY. OUT. You can't come where we're going. You don't DESERVE to, especially if my hunch is right. So, just stay by the damn car."

Evie turned and pulled Marie along, coaxing her confused friend with gentle words. Martello and Ninja looked at each other, then back to the girls. They shrugged and cloaked, following the two girls into the woods.

!)(#%&_!$^&!_(#$^%#(!#^&%(#*$&^%*$#%)_#$$^)&%#$_!*#*%_!#$$%^#)*&%!&%!%*_%#$)(#$*!%_

Evie gently led Marie into a small clearing, leading the shorter girl to a few stones set in the ground. Evie sighed. "Do you remember these now? Do you remember at all?"

Marie blinked, confused, staring at the stones. There were five total, and each one had a different drawing on them. She reached out to the one in the middle, touching a faded painting of an eye.

Marie wobbled and collapsed in front of the rock. She stared straight ahead, looking at the mark. Evie stood by silently, willing to wait until Marie remembered, before doing her own mourning.

Tears began to fall down Marie's scarred face. "They're not coming home… Are they? Never again… How could I forget that? How could I forget them? Everything? I'm a horrible family member…"

Evie set her hand on Marie's shoulder. "You're not horrible. You couldn't handle their deaths. You cracked. I didn't want to push you. I was afraid… That you wouldn't come back to me."

"I'm crazy, aren't I? I haven't felt like this in a long time… Everything seems so blurry, like a cartoon that I can't remember, but know I've watched."

Evie sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with you. While we're here, you're normal. Like you used to be. But, when we leave, it fades. You start to forget. It's been getting worse over the years."

Marie nodded, bowing her head. "I'm sorry I'm like this, Genevieve. I know it's been hard on you. I'm sorry I can't stop it. Will you stay with me? Til the end? Even if I forget everything?"

Evie patted Marie's shoulder. "Of course I will. I promised I would never leave you. Now, I'll let you take care of your graves. I have my own business to attend to."

"Of course. By all means. But, we'll clean… THEIR graves together? I… I don't think I can face it on my own."

Evie looked over her shoulder as she knelt by one other stone, on the opposite side of the clearing. "That's all right. I can't either. Let me know when you're finished there and we'll go take care of them."

Marie nodded and set about clearing weeds from in front of the stones, refreshing the markings, and leaving the dead squirrel on the rock farthest to the left. She sat back, having saved that one for last. It was adorned with a stick figure of something resembling a dog. "I'm sorry, Holmes. Hope you like the squirrel."

!_#%&((#$*%(#$^&!%+#)($*^#_$^&#)$(#!#$%*_)($%!(#%&#%$(!#)%*#$_!%*+_(#$%*#(%

Dho'mago'te and Tvrtko watched intently from the trees. They didn't understand what was going on. Dai'za'te seemed… Strange. And she and Faru'qi were wandering about, pulling greenery and poking about rocks.

Dho'mago'te frowned. What could this mean? He had never heard of Oomans doing anything like this. He set about recording it, making sure to keep his voice quiet as he took notes. Tvrtko gazed on, watching Faru'qi intensely. She was also acting different.

Finally, the two females stopped tending the separate stones and gazed at each other. They spoke softly, then went towards stones on a third side of the clearing. There were two, but close together. He caught them mentioning words he understood of Ooman. Death, hurt, miss them, don't think.

Dho'mago'te frowned. What could this mean? The females approached the double rock together, gazing upon it. Dai'za'te secreted liquid from her eyes and he worried, knowing she was sad or hurt. The Ooman reached out to one of the rocks and stroked it, repeating a phrase over and over.

Faru'qi was quiet, gazing sadly. She knelt down and lowered her head and Dho'mago'te saw Faru'qi secreting the liquid as well. She did this rarely and he was alarmed. Tvrtko was as well and began to step forward.

Dho'mago'te shushed him, holding back his companion, shaking his head. They could not interfere here. He did not know why, but he knew they could not. This was holy ground.

After a time, Dai'za'te reached out and touched Faru'qi's arm. Dai'za'te shook her head and turned away, rubbing at her now reddened face, leaving the clearing. Faru'qi stayed a moment longer, then leaned in and rested her forehead upon one of the two rocks, the one to the left. Sighing, she stood and left, walking after Dai'za'te.

Quietly, both warriors followed the females through the growing gloom, concerned about what they had just seen.

!)(#&%!#*)%&(!#&%_!*$_(!#&%$_(!#*$*_!)#(%&_!#($%_!%&($!#(%&!_(#$*!_#(%&!#($

Marie sighed as she re-entered what had once been her beloved home. Only now did she see the wear and tear on the once beautiful place and she winced at the sight of the rust colored stain on the beige carpet.

Trudging past it, she remembered the night that the… Xenomorphs, had come. Monsters of darkness, death and destruction. She knew they had taken her father, mother and pet. She had never found out what had happened to her older siblings. Or, for that matter, the one man she had loved. Had wanted to marry. Her dearest one.

Trudging up the stairs, she heard Evie come in. Marie went to her room, into her closet, and began pulling out boxes. There were only three, where once there had been almost a dozen, but water damage had ruined the others.

She sat on her faded comforter and began pulling out pictures, one by one, gazing upon familiar faces and places. She shuffled through the pictures, smiling at some, crying at others. She saw her family, unharmed, alive, smiling. Her friends around her, back when she had been normal.

Evie came in and sat next to her, skimming her own photos. She had only one photo album and easily went through it before Marie had finished one box. Then, Evie leaned over and began going through pictures with Marie.

After awhile, Evie slipped away, leaving Marie to her memories and contemplations. She exited the room, pulling the door shut behind her. She went to the living room and found Martello and Ninja gazing over the few pictures out there that had survived, especially the pictures of Marie as a child.

Martello picked up one picture of Marie, short haired and gap toothed, and pointed at it, then towards where Marie was. Evie nodded. "Yeah. That's Marie. Cute little thing, na?"

Martello gazed at the frozen image, caught while Marie had been happy, care free, and unmarred, then set it down gently, chattering softly to himself.

Evie took a deep breath, preparing herself. This had to be done and done NOW. She couldn't go on not knowing. She stepped up to Martello and tapped him on the arm. He looked down at her, quirking his head.

Evie gazed up into his masked face, deadly serious. "I have some questions that I really need answered. You ready?"

Martello contemplated what she said for a moment, checking something on his wrist control, then back to her, nodding. Evie nodded as well. "Good. So. First question. Did you hunt and kill the Xenomorphs BEFORE coming to kill them to save humans?"

Martello stopped, chittering to himself, then nodded affirmatively. Evie frowned. "Next question. Did you bring the Xenomorphs here? To Earth?"

The red giant shook his head no. Evie was annoyed. Something wasn't adding up. "Okay. So, if you hunt them other places, how could they have gotten here?"

Martello was stumped by this question for awhile. Several hand gestures and recordings later, Evie thought she understood what he had said. "Right. You're saying the Xenos just… Randomly evolve and appear places?"

Martello nodded, pleased. Evie leaned against the wall. "That doesn't make any sense at all. Are you sure that you NEVER brought ANY Xenomorphs to Earth?"

Martello paused, thinking. Then, he played a recording. "Only a little bit!"

Evie was not amused. "Then, obviously, you guys brought them here. How could they have gotten to Earth otherwise?"

Martello shook his head no vigorously, stabbing at his wrist. "Kill them all! Kill them all!"

"Yeah, sure. You're absolutely, 100% certain that no Xenomorph EVER escaped and WASN'T killed? Really?"

Martello stopped, then looked over at Ninja. Ninja shook his head no, but Martello seemed unconvinced. The red warrior just shrugged.

Evie stomped her foot, rearing up. "How can you be so casual about this? Do you KNOW what you have done? My species, Marie's species, our FAMILIES and FRIENDS and our LOVERS are all DEAD. All because YOU idiots couldn't stop and think about the repercussions of your actions! Marie is fucking NUTS because of you! My best friend! Do you have ANY idea what we had to go through, because you couldn't clean up your own damn MESS?"

Martello was silent through her tirade, thinking. He stepped forward, reaching out the Evie, to touch her shoulder, but she pulled away. "No. No. We are NOT friends. We're NOTHING, as far as I'm concerned. Marie and I have been through HELL and back because of you. And so has everything and everyone else on this dead rock!"

It was then that Evie noticed that Martello had been recording her. Again. This only infuriated her more. All the hurt, rage, pain, humiliation, suffering she had gone through welled up and she was white hot with fury. "STOP THAT! Stop recording me like some twisted science experiment! I'm not a toy; I'm not a test subject! And neither is Marie!"

The two aliens and one human stopped as they heard something clatter to the floor. Turning, they all saw Marie, standing outside her room, a picture frame fallen from her hands and shattered on the floor. She looked lost, confused. Evie took a step forward. "Marie. Honey. Come here, okay? Don't do anything stupid, all right? We're gonna go now, okay?"

Marie didn't listen. She let out a sobbing wail, tears rolling down her face, and she fled, charging out the front door of her shattered home. Evie started after her, but Martello was faster and he leapt towards the open door, pounding after the quickly vanishing Marie.

Evie kept running towards the door, but Ninja grabbed her, pulling her back. Evie felt the fury again and she turned, pulling out the small hand gun that Marie insisted she carry. Pressing the barrel against Ninja's stomach, she pulled the trigger, making a satisfying crack in the silence.

Ninja dropped her arm and stepped back, gazing at the small trickle of green blood flowing from the wound. Evie kept the gun up, infuriated. "Don't you EVER come near me AGAIN. I HATE you. I hate Martello. I hate your race. I loathe EVERYTHING about you and yours. Come near me again and I will FINISH YOU."

It was almost unnoticeable, but Ninja seemed to slump, stepping back again. Evie snarled, then turned and went out the front door, gazing up the street. "Marie! Marie, come back! Please… Please come back…"

!()#&%!*#%&!#*$!_#%*^!_#*$&_!*#^%!_#$*&_!#*%&_!#(&$_#*%_(&!#*#_%&!#_($&_

Dho'mago'te ran slowly, keeping up with Dai'za'te, but not catching up. He wasn't sure he wanted to catch her. But, it wasn't safe and she had few weapons. He didn't want any harm to come to his small companion.

Finally, Dai'za'te seemed to slow, trudging towards some strange metal contraptions, sitting on some sort of sling and swinging about in it. He stepped forward quietly, not wanting to startle her. Finally, he was in front of her, and he had never been more terrified in his life.

He knew. He KNEW what had happened. He knew that planets were seeded for hunts, about the incident on the Ooman planet, of the abomination that had come from a Yautja warrior. He had thought that it had been handled, by both Yautja AND Oomans. Clearly, he had been WRONG.

He didn't know what to say anymore. It had all been so simple. Oomans were to be prey or to be studied. That's all. But, he had studied too much. He knew why no one had done it before him. Oomans were too alike.

He, too, had kin he didn't wish to see taken by the Black Warrior. He felt his heart well with sorrow at the thought of not seeing them again. He knew he wasn't supposed to feel those things, they should have been beaten out of him in training, but he and his clan had always been odd.

Feeling that sadness, he realized it was only a tiny fraction of what Dai'za'te felt in her heart. At least, the Black Warrior willing, he would see his kin again and have them with him for many years yet. But Dai'za'te… She had lost many, many kin and friends because of his peoples' carelessness.

Reaching out, he tried to touch her, as he had so many times before. But now, it had new meaning. He reached out to her as a friend; as he would Tvrtko, not as something fun to do with a pet.

She looked up sharply at him, pain in her small face and green eyes. She bared her teeth in a way he knew wasn't good and lashed out at him. He felt a blade enter his arm and he blinked. She had not attacked him in some time.

Looking down, he was dismayed to find that it was the very blade he had given her. He pulled it out of his arm and tried to give it back to her. She stood, pulling away, waving her arms, refusing to accept the weapon.

Shoulders slumping, he placed the knife on his belt once more. The weight felt strange after being gone so long. Dai'za'te looked ready to run again and his scanners were picking up the approach of some Kainde Amedha. He wanted to bring Dai'za'te back alive, so that Faru'qi would not lose another of her kind and so Dai'za'te could continue to live.

Darting a hand out, he grabbed her arm easily and pulled her close, enfolding her in his grip, picking her up and setting off at a quick jog. Dai'za'te kicked and bit at him, trying to be released, but he endured. Taking her abuse was the least he could do to begin repaying the debt he had to her.

She secreted the fluid again, screaming at him. His heart clenched, knowing he was causing this, but not willing to let her run. Finally, after a short time, he reached the abode that had once been home to Dai'za'te and her kin.

Faru'qi rushed forward, waving a weapon, and Dho'mago'te gently set Dai'za'te down, letting Faru'qi take her. Faru'qi yowled at him, pulling Dai'za'te away. The two females went into a different home, one right next to Dai'za'te's, and shut the door.

Dho'mago'te sighed and cloaked, slipping up onto the roof above Dai'za'te and Faru'qi's heads. Crouching there, he resolved to not allow anything to harm the two females again. He and his had done enough to cause them suffering, pain they did nothing to deserve.

!*)#&%!_#)(&^!#%_*&!(#&%(#%&($^&_#%*!(#%&!_#(%&!#_%&!)(#$&!_#%(&_!#(!$_#(%&

The night waned and Dho'mago'te waited, occasionally picking off Kainde Amedha that got too close. Finally, Tvrtko reappeared, bleeding from a small wound in his stomach. Dho'mago'te didn't bother to look up to acknowledge his friend. "Tvrtko… What have we done to these people?"

Tvrtko said nothing. He simply stood next to Dho'mago'te, frowning and thinking.