Chapter 54

Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.

"Master S'wqua."

Her voice barely a whisper as A'stea looked beyond Kaail. He brought along several Hish guards and a few lower-ranking Amengi, most likely commanders to keep the others in line. A dozen or so in a party so it can only be assumed that they were prepared or even followed them. She knew this was trouble and it wasn't lost on Kaail.

"I guess Master Thu'at was right to watch the ooman. But I never thought that his prized possession was also involved . . . in an amorous way."

Master S'wqua stepped forward, only to be met with a warning growl from Kaail. "Don't come any closer."

"And what? She's my property and mine alone." The master looked at A'stea. "So you thought you can deny me when you allow this beast to have you all for himself?"

She pulled back in disgust. "I'm not yours to have as your toy . . . or anyone else's!" Her voice reflected the anger inside. It had the opposite effect that she was going as Master S'wqua chuckled.

"Do you honestly think you can be on your own? You had to bring Kaail into this as well to protect you."

Kaail growled. "I came on my own free will. Like everyone else should."

His eyes turned to the Hish guards behind them. He noticed the hesitation in their eyes and the twitching of their arms. They don't know what to decide if they should obey or do something. He can't rely on them right now. He had to deal with the main problem in the form of an Amengi master. His red eyes stared angrily. His defiance was made clear . . . very clear.

"You're a fool then." Master S'wqua's tusk twitched. "But I'm willing to forget all of this if you give me back my property and never touch her again. After all, if it wasn't for me, she'd be long dead by now."

A'stea couldn't stand it anymore. The uneasiness from the beginning of this situation turned into pure rage. She pushed Kaail softly aside and stood her ground. "You don't get to tell either of us what to do. As far as we're concerned, I'd rather die than what you put me through all those years . . . and what you and the masters did to the Hish for centuries! You're more beasts than everyone else!"

She paused. "And you'll get what's coming to you . . . sooner or later."

They watched as Master S'wqua lowered his head, shaking it along the way. He made no sound or movements that would indicate what he was thinking . . . or at least clearly. But Kaail stayed wary. He'd been with the masters long enough that he could detect even the smallest of emotions. And the masters will try to get what they want.

"You don't have a choice in the matter." Master S'wqua raised his head. A smirk crossed his insect mouth, making A'stea sick. "This ooman had poisoned you . . . so it is time to give a meaningful lesson in torture and submission."

He raised two fingers and flexed them two times. On cue, the guards surrounded them with their guns right at them. Kaail quickly got to A'stea's side and growled, ready to fight a battle that he questioned if he would win. They were outnumbered and outweighed but it didn't matter. His pride wouldn't allow if he relented, they would surely die.

"Now, now. No one needs to die and I don't want to damage anyone's property unnecessarily . . . especially my own." Master S'wqua aimed his sights on A'stea. "Surrender peacefully and your punishment will be swift and easy. At least for us."

Kaail refused to move but looked around at the guards. The Amengi showed no remorse or pity, unlike his brethren who were scared as c'jit but didn't show. An idea came into his head as he caught sight of a Hish guard zipping his eyes back and forth between Master S'wqua and himself. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . this might work.

He reached for A'stea and pulled her by his side. She tensed at his touch but felt him rub his fingers gently, easing her a bit. He turned his head for a second, seeing her hazel eyes and smiling softly. It'll be alright, A'stea.

"Your words are empty." He hissed. "You think the Hish are weaker than you?"

Kaail watched as the Hish guards lowered their guns for a moment. "We're stronger than you think. And have more honor than all of the Amengi combined."

Master S'wqua snorted. "Then I'll take great pleasure in torturing you first . . . and then have my fun with her." He raised his fingers once more, about to give the command to the guards. Kaail and A'stea anticipated it but somehow . . . luck was in their favor at that moment.

In the split second, after he gave the command, a shot was fired. An Amengi guard cries out in agony and everyone turns to see a burnt hole through his chest. Blood sprayed all over Master S'wqua as the body collapses onto the ground.

"What the pauk are you doing?!" Another Amengi guard screeched and everyone turned to where the shot came from.

A lone Hish guard was the culprit with the end of his gun still puffing out remnants of smoke. Kaail could see Master S'wqua hissing in shock and the sudden change in the Hish guards. No longer seeing fear or doubt . . . but rather a new sense of resolution. The male nodded at him in approval as the others followed suit.

Enraged, Master S'wqua roared. "Kill them!"

The next thing anyone knew, the area turned into a mini battlefield. Kaail pulled A'stea away as the Hish guards pitted against the Amengi. Shots of plasma flew back and forth between the two sides. Everyone got to cover as the blasts took down a few from each side, littering the space with bodies and charred craters.

"Let's get out of here!" As much as Kaail wanted to join the fight with his brothers, A'stea's safety takes priority. When he knew she was safe, he'd come back.

"But we can't just leave them!" A'stea yelled.

Of course, she wouldn't. She's not the type to stand by.

"We have no choice! We need to find shelter and then we can get out of here!"

Before she could protest, Kaail lifted her in his arms and sprinted away from the battle. A'stea tried to break free of his hold but filled with determination, it was like trying to break metal chains with her bare hands.

"Let me go, Kaail!" She pushed on his chest again. "We need to help!"

"I will! Until you are safe, then we—"

A searing pain hit the back of his calf as he lost strength in it. He trips forward, sending himself falling to the ground and A'stea skidding across it. Grunting, Kaail looks back to see a knife had struck into his calf and went straight through. He reached to try and get it but Master S'wqua thrusts his foot down hard, breaking it. He screeched from the excruciating pain it brought.

"You should have surrendered when you had the chance. But now . . . not only did you damn the others to death but you'll get the brunt of the beating."

He heard several footsteps among the gunfire and fighting behind. Three Amengi guards stood right behind Master S'wqua as he gave another command. "Now if you excuse me . . . I have some unfinished business with the ooman."

Kaail froze in fear, turning to A'stea who watched from afar. The shock in her eyes was enough to tell him all he needed to know of the 'unfinished business'. Right as Master S'wqua lifted his foot, he tried to rush at him but the Amengi guards beat him to it, grabbing him to his feet before pinning him on his back. Next, they began to punch him anywhere they can inflict pain, eventually adding their claws to tear his flesh and spill his blood. They were slowly killing him.

A'stea watched as Kaail tried to fight back, snapping his mandibles and thrashing to get at least one of his hands free. But being outnumbered and incapacitated, his attempts were futile. "Kaail!"

She rushed towards them with a knife out and ready to kill the first Amengi she could reach. Of course, the first one was that of her master who strolled towards her with no fear . . . not even putting up a defense as she could see. Does he think I can't kill him? That will be his mistake and I will take great pleasure in doing so.

With a scream, she swings his arm with the knife at him, aiming for the soft part of his exoskeleton. But Master S'wqua swipes her hand away, grabbing her wrist and twisting it so hard that she was forced to let it go. A'stea gasps but is cut short when Master S'wqua grabs for her throat, dragging her across to pin her on a tree. She felt her back almost snap in half but she fought back, digging her nails into the master's wrists although they didn't do much.

"You think you're strong enough to fight me?" He inches his insect face closer to hers. His scent alone made her want to vomit and his ugly face coming closer was not helping.

"You're nothing but a pathetic ooman who can't even save herself. How can you hope to lead an entire Rebellion against us?"

Her eyes widened. "You know about that?"

He chuckled. "We have known for a long while. I simply denied you have the mental capacity until we got confirmation recently."

Confirmation? Does it have anything to do with how Mor'dath knew?

"Still, I'm not as pauking pissed as seeing you fornicating with a beast such as the Great White Warrior and yet deny me the same privileges?"

In an act of defiance, A'stea spit into his face. She watched, enjoying as his master turned his face to wipe in disgust. She could see the fire of anger growing in his eyes. "The only one that will even tolerate being in the same bed as you is death itself. And I will gladly send you its way."

The grip on her neck grew tighter and she almost swallowed her tongue when she tried to take a breath. Her vision faded in and out as Master S'wqua moved closer with a grin on his mouth. "Then I shall gladly take you with me as I pauked you senselessly . . . until you're dead."

With that, he began to tear her clothes off as A'stea tried her best to fight back, screaming as much as she could.

As soon as he heard her scream, Kaail turned his head and through the burning sensation and the pain the Amengi guards were giving him, he saw, to his horror, as Master S'wqua began to rip A'stea's clothes off. Her cries and screams rang in his ears painfully, far worse than the rest. When he watched the side of her bra ripped away and exposing her breast, he had enough.

You pauking asshole!

With all the strength he could muster, he managed to get one of his hands free. The guard nearest him didn't have a chance to escape as Kaail grabbed his face and dug his claws into his eyeballs. The small window of hesitation from the others gave him a window of opportunity. He punches the guard holding his other hand, freeing it. They have lost control over him . . . and it would be their own doing.

Kaail pulled his legs back and kicked the two at the end. His body twisted until he was on his feet, bloodied but angry. With such speed, he stabs a guard with his bone blades in the gut and grabs another, only to break his neck with one easy twist. Again and again, he brutally murders the Amengi guards . . . so much so that a few of the Hish still fighting paused to witness the brutality. It showed them just how much of a difference their strengths were.

As soon as he cut the throat of the last one, Kaail ran as fast as he could towards where Master S'wqua had A'stea. His anger boiled into a pure rage as he saw his hand groping her breast while the other reached between her legs. The sorrowful whine she let out choked his chest like someone was crushing it. I won't let him have you!

Without hesitation and through the pain, he thrust his hand towards his target. By the time Master S'wqua realized what had happened, it was too late as Kaail stabbed his hand right through Master's S'wqua's back. He could feel his fingers wrap around the spine . . . his claws slicing into his liver and stomach. He listened to the gurgles of the master as he lets go of A'stea. She drops to her knees, coughing but still alive.

"You . . ." Master's Swqua gurgles through the blood pouring into his mouth. "You would . . . go against the masters . . . for this cunt?"

His mandibles twitch at the disrespect he expressed about A'stea but stayed calm. Kaail brought his face closer until it was leaning on the side of his face. He watched as Master S'wqua shivers. Now he's the one who should be afraid.

"No longer do I belong to the masters . . . nor does anyone owe me or my people. It was your mistake to think you are gods." He growls in a deep tone, feeling his body burn with the desire to kill.

"Die."

With a snap, he severed Master's S'wqua's back like it was butter and yanked back as hard as he could. Bones snapped and muscles tore as he pulled the spine out and in the process, took the skull right out as well. In the end, Kaail held the bloodied skull and spine of an Amengi master and roared in victory. Never again . . .

A'stea could only watch Kaail as he showed off his prize from the battle. Although she was glad that her master was dead, fear struck in her core. She didn't know whether to be happy that he won . . . or be afraid of what he's capable of doing next. Covering her chest, she stood up as Kaail turned his sights on her. She flinched instinctually. When she did, his red eyes softened and showed remorse. He dropped the skull onto the ground and slowly walked towards her, cautious in his approach.

"Are you alright?" He spoke.

She didn't move or answer but allowed him to hold her in his arms. At first, she tensed against him but when he purred and his warmth spread into her, she relaxed. "Yes . . . I'm fine." But her eyes never left the corpse on the ground. Another problem took over her attention as she pulled away.

"This is bad."

"What do you mean?" Kaail asked.

"We shouldn't have killed me. Now, we'll have the entire Amengi masters on us if they find out."

With a high ranking master dead, it wasn't a subject that the masters would leave alone anytime soon, especially with the Rebellion on the way. Now, the heat of their wrath will be coming for them and she knew it wouldn't be long. "We have to get out of here . . . and dispose of the bodies. No one can know."

Kaail agreed and looked towards the Hish guards still standing, bruised, and bloody but still capable of moving. They waited patiently as Kaail and A'stea gathered themselves.

"Are you with us?" Kaail asked assertively.

One male spoke for all. "After this . . . I'm pretty sure we have no choice."

Not a good answer but it will have to do for now.

"Fine. Take care of the bodies and leave no trace behind. Meet us at the cliffs and we'll talk from there."

All the males suddenly bowed their heads to him. Both of them were shocked to see them paying respect as if he was their Leader but it was nice. Kaail grumbled in acknowledgment before dismissing them. They got to work and began carrying the bodies out of here and to who knows where. Anywhere other than here.

"Kaail?"

He looked down at A'stea. "Yes?"

She lowered her head slightly. "There's something I need to tell you . . . or rather everyone in the Rebellion now."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned his chin on her head, purring. "It can wait until we reach the others. We have to tell them what happened here."

She nodded. As much as she wanted to forget everything they saw or heard, what's done is done. For now, they needed to get out of here before more Amengi show up. With a nod, A'stea followed Kaail out of there and through the jungle to reach the hideout, dreading that the timed bomb she had been trying to prevent had finally set off.

Hi everyone!

This is going down the drain at this point and getting worse as well. Master S'wqua has found out about them and was ready to rape her and beat Kaail almost to death. Luckily, they got more allies to help, showing the shift in the Hish population to the Rebellion.

And not to mention that Kaail killed the Amengi's fucking ass like a true Yautja (in the future with the spine ripping. See what I did lol).

But they have bigger problems now and someone is indeed going to suspect that a high ranking master is dead. Will it come to bite them in the ass? And what will the others think when they find out?

But most importantly . . . How did they find out about Kaail, A'stea, and the Rebellion? I wonder . . .

Find out when Chapter 55 comes tomorrow!

Thank you for the reviews (Anonymous-E, Mariah, and IanAlphaAxel)! They are very important for me and I hope I see more readers posting as well. All opinions are welcomed. I hope you keep on reading! ;)

And thank you for your support. :)

Happy Hunting! :))))