As Scar hung over the heaving water, the two impulses fighting for dominance within him, he heard a roar and saw a bright flash out of the corner of his eye. It took him a split second to understand what it meant and then he suddenly realised; "That came from behind me; the boy must have fired the plasma gun!"

The first shot went wide, but looking back over his shoulder he saw Isaac take aim again, holding on with just one hand and his legs around Scar's waist.

The hard meat sprang closer and the boy fired again and then again, the third shot finding its target, blasting the bug off the wall. As it dropped twisting towards the waves Isaac craned forward to see and his grip on the hunter's shoulder began to slip, fingers slithering on wet skin. Scar's hand shot out like a striking snake to grab the boy's wrist, seizing him before he could fall. He could feel that fierce, protective instinct sweeping through him again like a drug.

A quick glance around confirmed his suspicions; more hard meat were emerging from the shattered window. His grip on Isaac tightened as he looked round desperately for a way of escape that would allow him to keep hold of both children. Then he leaned back against the wall behind and felt a cold, smooth surface; "A window! But if I throw myself at the glass without weakening it first we will end up in the water…."

"The gun boy… give it to me!" His own plasma cannon had long ceased to function, jammed up with gunk and slime from the flooded tunnel. A quick glance told him the kainde amedhe were nearly on them "Quickly!"

Isaac shoved the weapon at him clumsily and Scar grabbed it, turned and fired straight at the window. There was a shower of sparks but he could hear the glass creak and crack as it absorbed the heat. He seized Isaac's other wrist and pulled him round, hugging him against his chest. Wrapping the other arm around Selim he threw himself shoulder first at the weakened glass. His body screened the boys as hot fragments rained down but his armour plating protected him from the worst of the shrapnel.

He staggered upright in another gloomy corridor, still clutching the children to his chest.

There was a hiss in the darkness behind them.

Scar turned to find the drones waiting for him; an arsenal of glistening teeth swung in their direction. He began to edge backwards, gripping both children hard and putting his back to the wall.

He knew he had to make a stand. What he needed to do was put both boys down so that he could draw his weapons, but right now he didn't want to relinquish his hold on either of the small, warm bodies pressed against his chest. "If I let them go, the hard meat will draw me out and then target the children. They always seek to pull down the weaker prey first… to take them back to the hive."

In the stillness, Scar could hear their hissing breath; see it as clouds of steam drifting in the frozen air. The circle around him began to close. Even if he picked off a few with the plasma caster, the hard meat were so many. He might not be able to kill them all before he was overcome. He growled, brain working overtime find the plan which would give them the best chance "The situation is desperate. I could drive them back enough to allow the facsimile to escape… but alone he will not last long and Selim is unconscious – he cannot run. For either of them to stand a chance, I need my arms free – I must fight!"

As he watched, one of the bugs snarled at him and he snarled back but he couldn't intimidate them forever; if one leapt, he knew they all would.

Hating to let go but knowing he had no choice, he lowered Isaac to the floor, pushing the boy between himself and the wall.

"When they come," He growled, thrusting the plasma gun at Isaac without taking his eyes off the bugs "Do not… flinch!"

Reaching behind his back, he drew his twin swords. The hard meat nearest to him opened its snaggle-toothed mouth, hissing in invitation.

He roared in answer, bellowing a wordless challenge in its face…


"Iversson!"

Lex threw herself forward as the Professor began the fall, just managing to grab hold of her arms. She was yanked to the floor and Iversson cried out in pain as her midriff struck the edge of the chasm. Lex held on tight, struggling to maintain her grip as Iversson dangled over the ocean, the gale tearing at her.

She glanced up. Through the maelstrom of dust and spray, she could make out the shape of Weyland huddled on the other side "I can't let her live, she could go after the boys!" She thought "I have to stop her; I can jump that gap easily!"

As they locked gazes across the gulf Lex almost choked on the bitter taste of rage, mixing with the metallic tang of Rathbone's blood. She watched impotently as the CEO staggered to her feet, throwing a panicky glance towards the darkened corridor.

"Weyland!" She screamed "I'm coming for you!"

A noise made her look down and she found herself staring into Iversson's terrified face. The fear she saw there brought her back to herself, a chill colder even than the freezing sea air.

"She was right!" She thought "Iversson was right! Who the hell am I? How could I ever look Isaac in the eye again, knowing I let her die?"

Suddenly terrified for the other woman's life, she gritted her teeth and hauled with all her strength. Using her grip on the grille of the flooring panel to anchor herself, she dragged the Professor onto the spray-slick metal until both of them lay the floor, panting in the swirling rain.

"Lex!" Iversson gasped in disbelief pulling herself upright "You saved me!"

"No Professor," Lex bawled at her over the howling wind "You saved me!"

Iversson stared at her in surprise for a few seconds, then she threw her arms around her former prisoner, wet strands of Lex's long, dark hair sticking to her cheek.

"Come on!" Lex shouted, dragging them both away from the edge, out of the wind "We have to get the boys!"

As Iversson released her, Lex finally allowed herself to look across at the spot where Diana Weyland had been standing moments before. There was no sign of her now. Pushing aside her anger she gestured at the huge hole in the floor "Do you know a way round?"

"Yes, the floor above is just like this one,"

Lex bent and picked up Weyland's pulse rifle from where it had skidded across the corridor, inspecting it "A pulse rifle, I haven't seen one of these in a while! Pump action, grenade launcher and… oh, look," She raised her eyebrows "It's got a burner function, too!"

"How do you know all this?!"

"You don't live with a hunter for six years without becoming pretty well-versed in weaponry. Here, you should take Rathbone's gun," Lex retrieved the pistol from a puddle of blood and handed it to the scientist.

"Alexa, I wouldn't even know where to start,"Iversson held it with the tentative grip of one not comfortable with firearms "I don't know if I could even use it – "

"It's not so hard Professor, just point and click," Lex gave her a grim smile "If it makes you feel better, it won't have much effect on the hard meat anyway."

"This is no time for jokes!"

"Who says I'm joking? Take it, just in case."

"Come on, we have to hurry!" Iversson gripped her hand "The exotic set off explosives and now the hull has been breached, we don't have much time before this complex sinks!"

"I believe you! Now, which way?"

Iversson thought quickly, mapping out Island North in her brain "We can get up to the next level," She pointed to the stairs, which luckily were on their side of the chasm "Then move along the corridor and find a way down. But I have something that – " She was about to tell Lex about Danzig's hormone tag when the structure gave another agonised groan, loud enough to be heard over the wailing of the storm.

"Save it," Lex said urgently "Like you said; this place is falling apart!"

As they started to move towards the stairwell there was a faint flash of light, dimly visible in the gloom at the top. At the same instant both of them heard a noise, muffled but very familiar to Lex; the sound of plasma fire.

She and Iversson stared at each other for a split second; then Lex began to sprint up the stairs with Iversson following as fast as she could.


As the first hard meat leapt towards him, inner mouth already extended, Scar side stepped and struck, cutting off the protruding jaws. His second sword came whirling round to skewer the hard meat right through its mutilated mouth. As it died, he felt himself sliding into the killing rhythm, his whole being concentrated on seeing the enemy's vulnerable points; on seeing their avenues of attack; his hunter's instincts assessing each action and reaction more swiftly and accurately than a computer.

This wasn't the same as fighting with the makeshift weapons he'd had earlier. Now he had his swords; sharp as grief and cruel as pity. Now he was an agent of death; decapitating one bug, cutting another in half "This is what I was born to do!"

In his peripheral vision he saw one of the hard meat edging round, trying to get to Isaac. He was about to throw himself in front of the boy when a burst of plasma lit up the corridor and the bug was thrown onto its back, half its shoulder disintegrated, struggling to rise.

Without pausing in his attack, Scar saw Isaac take aim again.

"Yessss boy!" He snarled "Destroy them! Send them to the bitch goddess! It is in your blood!"

But despite it all, he and Isaac were being driven back; little by little the hard meat were penning them in so they had less and less room to manoeuvre. Every time he made headway against the tide another wave would come and they would lose ground. Finally he was at bay, standing in front of Isaac, turned side on to the bugs to protect Selim. The blades of his swords were dissolving under the sheer weight of acid blood so he threw them down and unsheathed his dah'kte for a last desperate effort.

"Get ready Isaac, do not... fear them!" He growled, feeling like a traitor because all the time he was thinking "I may not be able to save them, but at least I can give them a quick death…"

"Over here you ugly motherfuckers!"

Several of the bugs hissed in surprise, blunt heads whipping round but Scar grinned under the mask without even turning his head. He didn't need to see her to know who had spoken. It was a voice he knew like no other.

"Get the fuck away from my babies!" She screamed.

A burst of yellow flame lit up the corridor and there was a chorus of dismay like a choir of lost souls. The bugs to their right squealed in shock and pain as they were caught in the blast. Many scrambled to get away from the fire and even those who didn't were temporarily distracted.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Scar sprang into a renewed offensive; launching himself into the hard meat as he swung his blades, dismembering them or and knocking them across the corridor with his fists…


Lex fired the flamethrower into the knot of hard meat again, making sure she aimed avoided the direction the plasma bolt had come from. The bugs were thrown into disarray, instead of training all their attention on their prey, they found themselves under attack from an unexpected direction. She knew the flamethrower wouldn't be enough on its own to drive them away but it had weakened their formation and that left an opening.

Letting the burner hang by its strap round her neck she drew her ki'cti-pa. Twisting it to bring the blades shooting out, she impaled the lead drone through the throat.

As she pulled her spear blade out of the first drone's throat she swung to face a second attacker, driving the spear into its gut. The bug snarled in rage and lashed its lethal tail at her. Keeping a tight grip on the combi spear she dodged to one side and the stiletto tail-spine hit the floor a few inches from her feet. She used the spear to keep it at bay as it struck at her again, pushing with all her strength to drive the spear still further into its belly. It squealed and thrashed wildly as the point burst through its back, then lurched to the floor.

She let go of the spear and unsheathed her wristknives just in time to slice off the hands of the next bug that lunged at her, the one that came after got skewered through the forehead, jaw dropping open as it died.

She braced one booted foot against the forehead of the hard meat on the floor and jerked the combi spear loose, stabbing the bug whose hands she had severed through the spine. It squealed, shuddered and was still.

Then two strange things happened; firstly the strip lights in the corridor, which had been dark and dead since the moment she'd set foot on Island North, hummed into renewed life. They were still guttering like a candle in the breeze, not reliable enough to really be called light, but she realised that somehow they had power where before they'd had none.

Secondly, there was a lull in the bugs attack. They didn't retreat – the hard meat rarely did that – but suddenly she found herself standing in the strobing illumination surrounded by the dead with no more coming to take their place.

"The back-up generator must have kicked in, sporadically at least!" Iversson said behind her and she turned to find the Professor had caught up.

Then, in the flickering light, she caught sight of a small shape huddled near the wall.

"Isaac!" She darted over, scooping him up "Thank God we found you!" To her surprise he threw his wiry arms around her without any hesitation, squeezing her for dear life.

"Isaac! Darling!" The Professor hobbled towards them, holding out her arms and Lex let him go to her, a little catch in her throat as Iversson hugged the boy fiercely.

"Isaac where's Selim?" She said urgently "You have to tell us where he is; did Farrell take him?"

Isaac turned and extended his arm, pointing silently past her with one clawed finger. Sensing movement at her back Lex spun round in alarm to find herself staring straight into a pair of yellow lynx-eyes that glowed in the darkness.

"Scar!" She whispered.

Without a word he seized her, pulling her up against him in a bone-crushing grip and burying his face in her hair. The light in the corridor seemed to beat in time with her hammering pulse as he all but squeezed the breath out of her body. Her fingernails dug into his skin and she felt him inhale deeply against her neck, as if he were trying to breathe her in; to drink up the scent of her.

Finally she managed to get air into her lungs again "Where's Selim?" She gasped.

Scar pulled back and she realised what Isaac had meant and why he was holding his body at an angle to her.

Strapped across his chest was their son.

"Selim!" She cried, panic gripping her as she saw the way his head was lolling forward "What's wrong with him?" She demanded.

"Tranquiliser dart." He said shortly "He will have… a headache when he revives."

The relief that washed through her was so great she almost laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck again.

"Some Father you are," She said in his ear "I turn my back for half an hour and you let him get darted!"

"It is good to have your wicked tongue back, Demon," He purred and she could hear the grin in his voice "But you should have told me."

"Told you what?" She looked up at him in surprise.

Her next words died in her mouth as a piercing scream of rage echoed up to them, enough to freeze her blood. Lex didn't need to be told what had made that sound. It had echoed through her nightmares often enough…


Author's note: Sorry it's been such a long hiatus, I had some non-writing stuff to do. I hope it's worth the wait!