Disclaimer: I do not own Predators. I've finally worked out how I'm going to end this story. The chapters are going to be coming quicker and quicker. So hold on to your seat belts Don't forget to review and let me know how the story is coming along from your perspective.

Lots of love!

Naz xox

Chapter 10

I'm in position. Reeka's statement echoed through her mind, its designation her twin brother.

I'll inform Kil'ton. You only have minutes before the retrieval team arrives. Hopefully that will be enough time.

It will be. Determination rose from the pit of her stomach as she edged forward in the small confides of the air ventilation shaft.

Bad bloods were extremely ignorant, she huffed insider her mind, leaving their ventilation unmonitored had become an opportunity for her. One she was eager to take.

She may not be able to best her brother in battle, but she had learnt how to become invisible to every sense a yautja had. Even to their helmet technology she could camouflage her heat signature by dropping or raising her internal thermometer. The mind is a powerful tool. One that is vastly underutilised.

It was an ability she had moulded into mastery from hiding from her father and older brother. As well as her habit of sneaking passed guards and security systems to reunite with her twin, Et'war, after they had been separated and placed in separate locked quarters for weeks at a time. Gods those weeks were painful.

Agility was also her strength, so when she finally allowed herself to be detected by her prey, it was already too late. Thick blades belonging to her dagger like weapons, the kurkri, slicing through throat armour to rend the flesh beneath.

Today she wasn't here to kill. Nor capture. That would be the job of the retrieval team. She was here to find out what the pauk was going on.

Manoeuvring over the vent, Reeka observed the room below. The bed had long haired furs blanketing the sheets. There were several tables decorated with various ornaments and weaponry scattered throughout the room.

Padding into view, her target snapped Reeka to attention. She sucked in a breath and tensed in preparation to pounce. That was until her target sat into a plush looking chair and looked up into the vent.

Blue eyes full of frost ensnared her through the thin slits of the vent. "Hello Mika."

Reeka's breath wooshed out, her heart thundering in her chest. Her location compromised. Before she could inhale she slid through the vent and dropped to the ground below. Following the force of the drop into a crouch, Reeka kept her weapon trained high against a possible attack.

They were alone. Rising to stand with a growl, Reeka faced the grey and brown yautja sitting with an almost bored stare in the chair. Sharp claws drumming a rhythm into the bone carved arm rest. "How did you know I was there?" She hissed taking a menacing step forward.

The female yautja smiled, Ooman lips pulling taunt over sharp teeth. To Reeka, who had seen a many warped Halflings, some with one mandible, some with four. The process of breeding between Ooman and Yautja didn't always create an aesthetically pleasing offspring. But in this female, the perfect balance of both species had been achieved. One of the lucky ones.

The yautja clicked low with a shrug, "Bad bloods smell like venom."

Reeka laughed, "Venom doesn't have a smell."

Head tilting the smile widened, "Doesn't it? Well you should tell my nose that."

What a strange halfling... Not that she could talk, she had found out from a young age that no other yautja could speak mind to mind. "Do I smell like venom?"

A slight nod. "Yes, but I am relieved to find out that it is only your skin that holds the smell. Almost like a perfume. One that can be washed away if you so please."

"Don't treat me like the bad blood. You are the bad blood." Reeka roared spitting into the female's face.

"It was not me who planted that bomb and killed hundreds of yautja this morning." Trinity tsked, a slight edge to the chiding tone.

Reeka ducked away from the cold stare, her gaze falling on a small figurine of Paya over Trinity's shoulder. She hadn't planted the bomb either. But she had scouted the location. It angered her. Alot.

Kil'ton had deviated from the original plan. The bombs were for the last trial. Not the first. She should have guessed he'd do something like this. Especially after the increased security measures due to her altercation with Rh'anka.

But it wasn't anger she felt in this exact moment. It was a surprise. Aggression was usually met with aggression. Reeka only received a small flutter of a sigh after her accusation. "Don't let your emotions control you Reeka. Besides, this is a joyous occasion."

She was right, soon the Gguk clan will have captured this Halfling. A joyous occasion indeed. "Why is this a joyous occasion for you?"

Another sigh was released after a slight twitch of the brow. "Because I am talking to another pure blood female."

Reeka had to work hard to ignore the heat of happiness that touched the halflings blue eyes. Joy bloomed from the female as hopelessness was shoved aside. "Why do you care?"

"Yes, why do I care? Good question. One I think you should ponder yourself."

Enough of this. "Who are you and why do you stand with the bad bloods?"

Standing swiftly the halfling rose to her full height, she was tall for a Ooman, but small for a yautja. "My name is Trinity. I am a Councillor and the Keeper of Birth. I am currently the Clan Head for Al'kun. And I am the daughter and offspring of a Ooman named Tainara and a bad blood named," Trinity paused only a second before continuing, "Karr."

"You lie!" The thin edge of Reeka's left kurki was pressed against the halfling's throat as soon as the name of her father left her lips. The curved edge shaking in rage barely held in check.

Not even flinching, Trinity smiled, the light of the room gleaming a deadly promise. "Do I? Look at me, who do you see?"

Liquid blue eyes. Grey skin mottled with brown. Physically, Trinity had soft curved and toned muscles under a basic tunic and leggings trimmed in the bones of her kills. She could be the offspring of any yuatja. This could well be a lie.

Except for the fact she felt like she was staring at her father, the arrogance, the intelligence. Trinity even had that insane twinkle in her eye. Here she was threatening Trinity's life with the sharp press of her weapon and what did she do?

She questioned. She pushed back. She teased.

And if that wasn't enough. She smiled. The glimmer in that facial expression reminding Reeka not of her father. But of Et'war. Gods why? "I see my father." Reeka watched triumph glow on Trinity's face before lowering her weapon with a sigh. "And my brother."

"Your twin Ed'war?"

"Et'war!" Reeka hissed her weapon rising again.

Trinity laughed ducking away towards a window showcasing a blizzard on the other side.

The bubbling sound brushing against Reeka, blooming surprise deep in her stomach. Laughter was rare in her life. If these yautja were indeed the Bad Bloods, why did she laugh with such joy? None of it made sense, frustrating Reeka even more.

Ready to slice the halfling's throat in two, Reeka was forced to take a step back when Trinity suddenly glided back to face her, a data pad waving in her face. The symbols of their species ready for Reeka to read. "What do you know about the invasion?" Trinity asked.

Annoyed at having a data pad shoved in her face Reeka growled low, "When it was over, Yautja Prime was uninhabitable, all female yautja dead."

Trinity nodded, "Who invaded?"

"The bad bloods." A simple answer.

"Who are the bad bloods?"

"The yautja who currently occupy Red Prime."

There was no backlash, no correction as if she was wrong. Reeka only received another nod before the questioning continued. "How did the Gguk Clan survive?"

"They managed to leave Yautja Prime in time and colonise elsewhere under the Clan Head Karr. Look, I have questions for you to- "

"What is your definition of honour?"

"Winning." The answer was automatic.

"Ok." Trinity said on a ghost smile.

"Ok? Is that all you're going to say?"

A small nod caused the rage in Reeka to burst forth. "How dare you!"

Trinity shrugged with a tilt of her head, blue eyes searching beyond Reeka's exterior. Looking for something deeper, something hidden. "Someone has to. Do you have questions?"

Questions? She had thousands! Do the bad bloods mate with Ooman females as well? Are halflings put through trials? Are there battle laws? Are yautja punished for fighting above their rank? Are there twins within the bad blood ranks? But there was only one question Reeka had time to ask. And it was the most important.

"If the bad bloods killed all the females, why do you side with them?"

Trinity rubbed her chin in thought before pushing the data pad towards Reeka, "Before I answer this, I want you to take this. Have a read through."

"What is it?"

"Our version of the invasion, more specifically Ti'tan since he is the Keeper of the Hunt Histories. It is important to gather as much information on the subject before you pass judgement. And besides, it is an interesting read. I was only there for the first day, I escaped the rest of it by hiding on Earth." Reeka wrapped her hands around the rectangular object unsure what to say. Trinity hadn't answered her question yet. "You'll find it unemotional and objective."

How could a yautja be objective about such a thing? The mere mention of the invasion caused Reeka's hackles to rise and tressels to shake. "My question Trinity..." Reeka refocused the conversation with a hiss, "Why do you support the bad bloods?"

"First let me take the term bad bloods away. No one is good. No one is bad. All are grey." Trinity pointed to her skin and chuckled at her own humour. Reeka arched her brow in question, did she just tell a joke? No one had joked with her before. Even her brother. The sensation of it was... pleasant. "There is the Gguk Clan. And then there's the Q'uk, Al'kun, Suk and Wikx. All are yautja. All are the children of Paya and Cetanu."

Blue eyes tested Reeka, a silent question of whether she believed in Paya and Cetanu. Of course she did. She prayed to them every night. At Reeka's nod, Trinity continued. "Honour to the Gguk is as you've said, winning. Honour to the other clans is not winning."

"Then what is it?"

"Respect."

Reeka barked in laughter, about to point out the halfling's folly before the door to the room was blown open. Both Reeka and Trinity were forced to the ground in a daze. Smoke and fire filled her nostrils before she stood up. A helpful hand pulling her to stand. "Reeka what are you doing here?" The intimidating helmet from her species staring down at her. The mark of Gguk and Lieutenant scraped into the metal for all to see.

Reeka dismissed his question with a wave, searching for Trinity. Was she alright? What... Why did she suddenly care? Her internal questions a puzzle.

Growls and hisses came from a frenzied Trinity held down by a tightening net. Arrows had been shot into the ground, holding her in as it net drew in. Strings like razorwire, the net cut into her arms and legs, red blood seeping from the thin slices.

"You will die!" Reeka watched the halfling scream with so much passion it drew the memory of her brother, begging and screaming for her release during her torture session years ago.

The lieutenant stepped forward, flicking his foot towards the halflings face. Trinity's head snapped back on an angle. The blow drawing blood from her nasal cavity and a cough from her lungs. Reeka edged a fraction towards the Lieutenant, the grip on her kurki tightening. "Why did you kick her? She is to be unharmed."

"She deserves it." The lieutenant kicked Trinity again. This time in the chest. Motioning to the other yautja around him to join in. They all barked in joy as they stepped forward. Trinity continued to struggle, continued to try and escape. But it was useless, the net kept her confined.

Deserve it? But Trinity hadn't been attacking Reeka. There had been no weapon, no armour. Trinity had been completely defenceless. Even her skin was soft, easy to break. But still the halfling continued to scream in promise to the yautja who beat her.

Maybe she deserved to be captured. To be brought in for her crimes against the Gguk Clan. But to kick her when she was already down? When they had already won?

Reeka noted both her hands had gripped the hilt of her weapons. Not to join in. But to... But to... Help?

Blue met brown. "Reeka!" She roared, "I'm pregnant! Help me! Please!"

Red became her vision. Nimble became her body. Both hands stretching out and slicing with its designated kurki. The curved blades slashing and stabbing. Ripping and rendering.

She could still hear screams. Still hear the roar of pain. So she continued. Spinning into another attack. Ducking before knocking a knee inwards with the hilt of her weapons. Muscle was separated from bone. Bone separated from ligaments.

In that moment she was an unstoppable force.

Silence. No screams. No roars. No breathing. Except for Reeka's own panting. Red finally gave way to green.

The blood of her comrades was everywhere. Their body parts splattered all over the room.

Movement to her left caught Reeka's gaze. Trinity. She was still trying to wiggle out from beneath the net. Did she ever give up? Easy answer. No.

"Reeka." She whispered, the click almost inaudible. Reeka knew she was testing the waters. This was the first time Reeka had experienced feral rage. She hadn't expected it to be so... so exhilarating.

"Reeka." Her name again, this time louder. "Get me out of this thing."

Adrenaline still riding her, Reeka was by Trinity's side in a millisecond, her eyes still dilated, her blood still pumping. The net was easy to cut away. Trinity slapping Reeka away as she pointed to the deep cuts on her arms and legs. "The Medica can see to them, they're shallow anyway."

Helping her to stand, Reeka watched as Trinity glanced around. The halfling whistled low in appreciation. "Good job. You definitely clean up like your mother."

Good job? Like Rh'anka?

Glancing around the room again, Reeka froze. Her comrades had been completely guttered beyond recognition. The helmet she had stared into minutes before was no longer held by a thick corded neck. Instead it lay still, green blood covering the Gguk Clan and Lieutenant markings.

Raising her hand to her forehead, Reeka found her hands were no longer red and grey but wet with green. Dripping drops no longer able withstand their own weight falling to the ground.

Hands starting to shake in front of her eyes as she roared her denial. "No!"

"Calm down, you did good." Perplexed by her reaction, Trinity placed a hand on Reeka's shoulder.

"No!" She slapped the offending hand away, throwing her weapons to the ground with another scream of rage. "What have you made me done?! What have you made me do?!"

Hands flat, raised in the air, Trinity shook her head in worry. "Nothing Reeka." She used her real name, not the one her mother had conjured up. "Please calm down."

"No!" She stepped towards Trinity with a growl, "You're the bad blood! You're the criminal! I should kill you. I should rip you in half!" Mandibles flared, claws curving in hunger, Reeka pushed Trinity to the ground. "I should finish you now and be done with you!"

Following the force of the blow, Trinity looked up from the floor. Wide blue eyes taking in the ferociousness glaring down at her.

Expecting some sort of attacking defense, Reeka froze when the only thing Trinity replied with was a question. "Then why don't you?"

Another roar, but it had not come from Reeka, nor Trinity. They both turned to the death threat. And found Mik'ail.

Crouched low, intelligent eyes taking in every aspect of the room. The green, the body parts, the red and grey yautja looming over his battle mate. A scythe resting loosely against his shoulder. His tight grip around the staff the only thing betraying the wrath coursing through his veins.

"Mik'ail stop-" Trinity tried to say.

But it was too late. He attacked.