Gerald was still walking through the empty pathways of the eden station, he was alone and felt worried that a warrior might come out and attack him, with no weapons or even any defensive skills to help get out of there it would be hard to find the rest of the group, but then he heard loud steps coming in front of him, he stopped once he heard these sounds, he was shocked, but he wouldn't stay there for long as he tried to search for a place to hide, which he found another room and then went to hide inside a locker; while he did so, the one that was coming was the mysterious Ravager, she still travelled in these paths of aching silence, of course she kept her own thoughts to herself as she said:
"This pain... This familiar pain I keep feeling every step on this forsaken place with it's troubled inhabitants, why can't I clearly remember this place? As if I once lived here... (She sighed) when I find that scientist, the one whose name I despise to mention, Tim, he will give me the answers on what has he truly done to me and what is this infernal cage"
Gerald was still hiding inside the locker, he didn't knew what was going on and didn't even want to know; the ravager felt many presences coming towards her, no surprise it was a hunting pack she thought to herself and indeed it was a hunting pack, she had to ask:
"Still searching for the invasive humans I assume?"
"You're not part of our hive, why does it matter to you?" -said a warrior
"Well, all I that was to ask a simple question, no need to be harsh"
"According to reports from our scouts there was a small group of humans, they made a huge commotion about something"
"Odd, the way you mention a huge commotion, why is that?"
"They said something about a suppose human living amongst another hive, they didn't specify who, but heck how can they even know which one, they're afraid of us"
"A human among us?" -the ravager asked
"Too many questions don't you think? Now let us pass, we don't take kindly to those who are not of our Rising clan"
"As you wish"
The pack just passed by through the ravager, while it happened, the ravager herself thought:
"Another one of your tricks "Tim"? When I get to the bottom of this mess you'll be the first one to die once I find you"
By the sound of her words it seems that she is on a quest, if we can say so, to find something related to herself and perhaps to this scientist named Tim, probably the one who Samson mentioned to Delilah, however it doesn't seem like she recognizes or ever heard anything about Daisy's existence, she would be willing to investigate this odd tale she's been told.
Somewhere else in an empty path where it still was the known mess of destruction and battle along the way, Daniel, Daisy and Iris would continue heading their path to find Milo in order to help him, though Daisy was happy and truly she was, she of felt something wrong with her as if it were a feeling of a sickness or such, Daniel looked at her with curiosity:
"Daisy are you alright?"
"Me? Oh, don't worry I'm okay" -she replied
"You sure, you don't look well"
"Does it look that way? Well, I assure you that i-"
Daisy was still conscious, but she fell on the floor, as Daniel came close to her, Iris hissed just in case if Daniel wanted to hurt her, the brave human looked at the young xenomorph and said:
"Hey relax, I may not speak your language, but you got to trust me the same way you do to your sister alright? I just want to see what's wrong"
Though the warrior may not have any visible eyes, one could tell that he still doesn't trust on Daniel, but he is willing to do so for his sister's sake; Daniel wanted to see if there was any symptoms on her, not any so far, though he checked on her gloved hand to see if there was something, Daisy with fright pulled away her hand, remembering her body changes, Daniel then asked:
"What's the matter? I won't hurt you"
"Daniel, I... There is something I haven't told you, I was afraid of it" -Daisy replied
"What happened? You got hurt?
"No, it's... A change"
Daniel wondered what she meant by that, he took out her glove to see her hand being slightly different than the other, Daisy was worried that he may not accept her or such, Daniel compared his hand to her almost Xenomorphian left hand, but strange for any common human, he did not react badly, he seemed to be alright with it and continued investigating her, Daisy was confused and asked worryingly:
"You're not worried? Scared or angry? What happened?"
"It's alright Daisy, I could be puzzled yes, but since you have talents that humans don't have, maybe it was to be expected to see something like this, damn, if Gerald was in here, he's a better biologist than what I am to know about this, so no, I'm not disappointed for what I see"
"But... What if... I tur-" -Daisy was stopped as Daniel put his linger to her lips and smiled
"I'll still love you, trust me, no damn changes can stop me from that"
Daisy smiled as well, Daniel still checked if there was anything until he felt something on Daisy's back and said:
"Odd, there's something in there"
"Wait what? Is it bad?" -Daisy worried
"Who knows... But... Um..." -Daniel was scratching his head and looked nervous
"Is it like really but really bad?"
"Not until I check it, but the thing is that... Well-"
"What?"
I need you to... To remove your shirt"
"What?!" -Daisy asked nervously
"Awkward" -Iris said
"For medical reasons, trust me, it's not like-" -Daniel said
"But what if someone sees me?!" -Daisy asks once again
"Don't worry it's just you, me and Iris... Don't worry, it'll be quick, trust me"
"(She sighed), alright"
Just as the girl took her shirt off, Daniel checked on her back, to his surprise there was four bumps on her back, Iris looked as well and said:
"Say sis, you're growing dorsal spines as well"
"Wait, what? Really?, I need to check" -Daisy said with curiosity
"We just need to find a proper hospital apartment with mirrors, but it still doesn't explain your current status... Put your shirt back on" -Daniel said
"Very well"
They continued their path to seek for the rest of the group, as Daniel held Daisy on his left arm to let her walk along him, though she felt like she was about to make a small fall, but Daniel caught her, chuckled to her and said:
"Don't worry, I got ya"
"Alright" -Daisy replied as she smiled back to him
As Iris just continued to move on his hands and feet like a normal animal and of course he thought to himself:
"Well, at least Daisy might become one of us, but... I still really think they're weird when they're too together... Yuck"
Somewhere around in a part of Daisy's home hive, the queen stood silent; while still creating eggs for her own hive, she was thoughtful during that moment, she was absolutely worried about Daisy's own opinion about keeping a human for herself, while she her is changing through time, considering the fact that she had never met Daniel, she begins to doubt him, can a human truly love a Xenomorph or a human that is about to become one? A very debating question she could not get rid of so easily; but then one of her drones came to her and she said:
"Your highness, there is... Someone coming here, she insists to ask you questions"
"Someone? From another hive I assume?" -The queen replied
"She wouldn't answer where is she from, but I doubt she belongs to any"
"Hm, bring all the warriors you can find, tell them to wait my signal if things go wrong"
"Your royalty?"
"Go"
As the drone went by to get the warriors she could find, the queen saw who it was and... She was surprised, too surprised to be exact, it was the ravager, though the mighty praetorian doesn't recognize who is the queen, she felt her shocked feeling:
"Odd, a stranger feeling surprised to see me? That means we once knew each other haven't we"
"Don't take my surprise as if I know you, I just never have seen your type"
"Lie every time you like, I'm just wandering about, asking queens from different hives about someone"
"Someone? Listen, I have a hive to take care of, I'm not interested if you're searching for someone you care or someone you want vengeance, so please leave us be"-the queen was calm but her words sounded like a warning, as her warriors arrive and await whatever command their matriarch shall give, the ravager has no fear towards a pack of warriors or even an army at all, but she then said with sarcasm:
"Your royal kindness, I seek no battle at all, all I ask is, do you know by any chance a hive who has a human pet?"
The queen was worried that she'd asked that, however she tried avoiding her worrisome feeling with her strong will, she warned the invader once again:
"I care for my hive so much, I will defend it, whether with my own commands or with my own hands"
"Very brave speech... Well, looks like I'm unwanted here, if you excuse me, I'll be searching for this human pet... Stop me if you truly care about her" -the ravager mocked
"Destroy her!"
The warriors charged towards the ravager, the bladed praetorian would kick and slash whoever cane to her, some warriors were only fortunate to have cuts rather than being sliced or torn by her, others were harshly kicked against the wall, the queen tried to get out of her ovipositor to save her warriors, but then the ravager jumped on the drone and then put her blade close to her dome, the queen stopped as the ravager had said:
"Hold it right there... I can sense this one is way younger compared to her other brothers and sisters... It really be a shame to, (she made a small chuckle) well, you know what I would say"
"Stop, she's just-"
"Only a drone? The youngest one? You know, I did had a feeling that your words reminded me of someone, who exactly I wondered, but then... I remembered you Beatrice, you've always cared about our human friend Tim, isn't it?"
The queen was now in shock to know that the ravager finally recognized her, she felt sad, through trying to overcome it:
"Tragic, I was worried you'd be alive still, sincerely I am surprised you're a queen, now you're the one giving commands rather than those abusive fiends treating us like test slaves... But why Tim? Why did that human cared so much about you compared to me and the others they tested? I either believe he was out of his mind or he wanted to play tricks on you... Maybe that's why you kept the human pet, as a replacement for whatever happened to him... What happened to him anyway?"
Beatrice was to sad as every word came from the ravager, how supposedly she cared for Tim as he did for her, but the queen replied:
"He... Cared about you too... He was scared for... What will you become, please Taila, stop this, you'll only hurt yourself"
The Ravager or Taila was indifferent to the Beatrice's words and her feelings as well, although she sparred the young drone and about to leave, she then said:
"I will find the truth about our torture, what they've done to us and that hybrid will help me... Stop me, after all I've died many times for Tim... He just doesn't want to leave the dead rest in peace does he?"
The queen was emotionally wounded by Taila's doing, attack some of her hive, remembered a past best left forgotten and what's worst, Taila is after Daisy now, her drone asked:
"Your majesty, are you alright?"
The queen was stroked with a silent pain, it would take time for her to regain strength to her soul in order to save Daisy from a voice that was so haunting for her; Inside the apartment where Gerald hide himself inside a locker, he got out and checked if the coast was clear, though it looked safe, he had doubts, until he found a motion tracker in the room, it was an older model, he tried to turn it out, which it did, but had few battery and worst part was the screen was almost broken; Gerald was afraid of what he might find outside the apartment, but he had to find the rest of the group immediately, as he got out, he walked to the path where he was suppose to continue going, however the tracker began to beep, he was spooked and checked three movements on the device, they were far behind him; she shook with terror, slowly turning around to see what it was, by luck it was Daniel, Daisy and Iris, though the young warrior growled at the scared scientist, but Daisy said:
"It's ok Iris, he's friendly"
"Better be, I still don't trust humans easily" -Iris said
"Daniel, what are you doing here?" -Gerald asked
"Coming to save the team, giving one last shot, to save everyone from this asylum" -Daniel said with a smirk
"Glad to hav-" -Gerald smiled but he was interrupted by Daniel
"I still will stay with Daisy after we saved the team, I'm concerned about your guys safety, but I do need Milo's help first"
"Milo? What for?" -Gerald asked curiously
"To free my hive, any hive from this place" -Daisy said
"What?! What is that suppose to mean?!" -Gerald panicked
"To move them in a nearest with wild life, no humans, just them" -Daniel said
"Is it even possible, no, even if it were possible, where is the nearest planet without human population to land the station?" -Gerald questioned Daniel
"We'll find out when Milo gets to the main bridge and finds it, then you guys will escape to whatever functional ship we'll find here and there, problem solved" -Daniel replied
"Wouldn't that upset Weyland-Yutani? They'll find the station"
"For a friend he surely is asking too much questions and is very pessimistic wouldn't you agree sis?" -Iris asked
"Milo is good at hacking and jamming signals trust me, I've seen that in action"
"Very well... Is Daisy alright? -Gerald asked
"That's where I need your help with" -Daniel replied
In another place, the group was on the move, probably searching for Daniel and Gerald, although mostly a biologist, he can be quite a medic too, Erica was the most concerned of them all, Ivy not so much, however Milo was doubtful on Kyle's perspective of things, he then came to him and asked:
"You sure you two are best buddies?"
"Of course, even way before we joined the marines, he wasn't much a social man like me, but he did cared for someone else more than any other person he has known"
"Really? Who was it?" -Erica asked
"Don't ask me to tell that story, Daniel would be really, but really upset if I told it to you guys" -Kyle said
"Probably embarrassed about something" -Ivy joked
"If only that were the case" -Kyle said
"Speaking of different cases, why do you exactly approve of Daisy's talents anyway?" Milo asked
"Again with that? Milo stop it!" -Ivy replied
"No seriously, what's your deal here, I mean I know she can do things that humans can't, but what if she wants to be left alone? She wouldn't want to see a crowd of humans if that's what you're thinking, after all she hasn't seen many humans to begin with" -Milo insisted
"Why don't you trust me? I wouldn't betray my friend for fame or such, but it's just that maybe that girl can be a true benefit to everyone, she probably has tamed those creatures, making good pets" -Kyle said
"Um, not to defy your words of optimism, but I doubt you should say that kind of stuff to Daisy, pets? She might take that as an offense, that species is a family to her" -Milo replied
"Of cours-" -Kyle was interrupted
"But I do have a reason to not trust you, just answer me this, how come you're the only one of your crew to have survived the swarm huh?" -Milo asked with suspicion
"Well, maybe it was just luck Milo" -Erica said
"Besides, the way you spoke about Daisy's talents, sounds more like you want to use her for something" -Milo said
"Why would I do that to Daniel? He has saved most of my platoon from a risky mission and because of that I would betray his trust, not even to the whole "relation with someone else" thing, relax kid, I'm friendly and you can trust me"
As the group continued, Milo was still doubtful about Kyle's action, he would probably save a bullet for him if he dared to do something to betray Daniel; in a hospital like apartment, in a radiology room, Daniel was with Daisy while she rested in a bed and told her:
"Fortunately you have no metals, not even that tag on your shirt is metallic, hopefully we should be able to analyze what is wrong with your body okay?"
"Alright but please stay with me here" -Daisy was scared of the machine
"It's alright, I'll come back to you when the process is over, it won't be long I promise you"
As Daniel went to the control section of the radiology room along with Gerald and Iris:
"If this thing hurts her I'll kill this guy" -Iris thought to himself
"Alright, here we go" -Gerald activited the machine to scan Daisy's body, it took it's time and while it seem finished, Gerald told to Daniel:
"Now, I just need to study what's happening according to what the machine scanned, might take a long while and later I shall tell you what's going on, while you comfort her alright?"
"Thanks Gerry, I will"
Daniel and Daisy where in another room with Iris guarding outside, the girl rested on a bed with sheets while Daniel sat on a chair close to her and caressed her forehead:
"Well it wasn't painful was it?" -he smiled to her
"No it wasn't... I wished you could meet Kayuk, he would had love to seen another human face on our hive"
"Kayuk? Whose he to you?"
"A father to me, he brought me to the hive when I was a child"
"Been here since a child? I didn't thought you'd lived that long"
"Yeah... He was very friendly, he took risks that no other hive member could ever take, he cared so much about me and Iris, he trained me well"
"At least I know how you good better at your talents (he smirked), what happened to him?"
"That is..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I shoul-"
"It's ok, not everyone lives forever... Still, I miss him so much, he just, he lived his life the way he can... We were hunting for Oswocs a day... But, he stopped moving, he fell and he didn't stood up... I cried, I shouted for anyone to help, i thought it was the injury he had on one of his dorsal spines, but it wasn't that, he had lived long as he could, but I try not to be too sad about it, Kayuk wouldn't want me to live my life agonizing forever"
"I may not exactly be someone who is too... Spiritual, but I do know this, he is somewhere safe, a better place than here and I bet he is happy to know you've met me"
"Is he? Where?"
"Well, it has a name, heaven I suppose, not sure how things work but, it's something that anyone would want to believe, if they wish to believe on it"
"Sounds lovely, I want to believe he is in a better world... Is that why you suggested my hive to go on a different planet?"
"Um, that's a different perspective, I mean, in the sense that his soul is somewhere else, not on a planet, but... Still a better place"
"I see... Strange... I feel like I heard that somewhere"
"How come?"
"I don't know... It just came to me, (she stood up from the bed, got close to Daniel and wrapped her arms on his neck), Daniel?"
"Yes?"
"I won't let anyone hurt you, no matter if they're human or not"
"It's alright, I can defend myself" -Daniel replied with a smile
"Not always, that's why I'll always be with you" -Daisy said as she kissed his lips
The couple kissed for a short time as Gerald announced through another radio they found in the apartment:
"Daniel, I've got good news only"
"Alright, be right there" -Daniel said
"Will you take long?" -Daisy asked
"I'll be back, trust me" -Daniel said confidently
Iris was still outside as Daniel passed, he went to where Daisy was as he put his head close to her left hand, Daisy caressed his dome, as she told him:
"Father is in a better place after all"
"I miss him, I'd wish he lived longer" -Iris said with a sad tone
"It's alright, though I don't just think he is in a better world, he has always been with us"
Iris was almost happy, as he left his sister rest in the bed; Daniel came to the room where Gerald made his studies as the biologist told him:
"Well, since you told me that her physical changes are fine to you, I found no infection or horrible pain really"
"Funny I thought you were just a biologist and not a doctor"
"Well I did studied a little bit of medical stuff, but aside from that, her small pains are common and hopefully they'll stop at a moment, still I'm amazed for what I found"
"What exactly?"
"These human genes I found on her, are morphing into the alien species as we know"
"How is that possible?"
"If only there was any scientist here who was alive to tell us that"
"Why would they do this to her?, she didn't asked for this and neither she deserves to live a life of a guinea pig"
"I still hope your plan works, though since you're going to save those hives, are you truly willing to stay with her?"
"I do, I want to be with her, she already suffered enough, just like I did"
"Why do you love her though, I'm glad you two are together, honest, but... You said that you found an exit from humanity, I never understood why"
Daniel looked sad, he had his head looking down with an melancholic expression as he didn't looked at Gerald's curious face, though he then said:
"Because... I can't... I don't... Trust... I hate humanity... I do"
Daniel then got out of the room, Gerald wondered if he was being honest, questioning that has harmed him; Daniel went back to the room where Daisy was, he came close to her in the bed, they both closed their eyes, they were kissing her as Daniel was holding Daisy in his arms and they both laid on the bed, though Daisy felt happy to see him and feel him once again, she felt like something was wrong with his heart, but she hoped her love could comfort whatever sadness he felt.