"You do this often?" Terry asked over his shoulder as three more beasts approached on his side.
Xander flipped a grin back at him, "More often then I'd like to remember."
Terry shook his head slightly, popping off a round from his shotgun that took out two of the spread of buckshot. "Here I thought my childhood was tough."
Xander just snorted, thinking about his parents more then his 'nightlife', "You don't know the half of it."
Terry shook his head again, wondering how the hell this kid could had gotten involved in this sort of thing. "Whoops... Incoming."
Xander followed Terry's gaze to where three new demons were approaching. Two of the type they'd been dealing with and a new guy.
"Uh oh." Xander didn't like the look of the new one. He was bigger, looked meaner, and was snapping orders. "This could be bad."
Terry shrugged, "Let's see if he's bullet proof." he said confidently.
Terry racked back the slide of the shotgun, and triggered wave after wave of twelve gage buckshot aimed at the trio approaching. The two Sh't demons fell from the wave of pellets, but the new one didn't even flinch under the onslaught.
"Shit." Terry muttered, "I had to jinx it."
Xander winced, "I really hate this part."
He stepped forward, the staff still in hand, and sized up the enemy. This is going to hurt. Hopefully him, but I doubt it.
"Say, Elan." Xander whispered under his breath, "Please tell me that you can kill this thing."
"Me?" Elanthielle sounded annoyed, "I'm just a weapon. You're the one who has to wield me."
Xander's heart sank, "You're magical or something though, right? Demon killing?"
"Sure," She said into his mind, "If you've had a couple decades of training. What did you expect? A weapon that did all the work?"
"A guy can dream can't he?" Xander watched as the big guy lumbered forward. "I'm a dead man aren't I?"
"I guess we'll just see.... oh and Alexander?"
"Yes?"
"Do not call me Elan."
*****
Xander stepped forward, shifting his grip to a more classical one for a quarterstaff type weapon. He did remember some of the things he picked up from Giles after all, even if not many of them. He shook his head as he stepped closer to the big Demon.
"I don't suppose you recognize this puppy do ya, Elan?"
Elan didn't answer for a moment, and Xander almost thought she wasn't talking to him. Finally he heard her whisper through his head. Do not call me Elan, but No. I can feel his demonic energy though, it is powerful.
"Great." Xander whispered under his breath.
"I can monitor your thoughts, Alexander. You do not need to speak out loud."
Xander didn't answer, he just looked over his shoulder at Terry. "Get her out of here, Terrance. This isn't going to go down easy."
Terry swallowed deeply, pulling Jenna up into his arms as he started to back away. He didn't like the idea of turning tail, but he couldn't imagine what he could do. The damn thing didn't even flinch when it took a twelve gage shell full on. As far as he could tell the boy was taking on a suicide mission.
"Come on girl, we gotta get you outta here fast."
*****
Xander heard the shuffling steps, as Terry drug the girl away from the fight. He didn't know how this was going to turn out, but he was glad that they were away. For the first time he understood why Buffy kept him at arms length when it came to patrols, only involving him when the consequences of not doing so were worse than anything that could possibly happen to him in a fight.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart and keep his mind in the game. His mind flashed back to something his soldier counterpart learned in training, and Xander could hear the instructors words ring through his mind.
When a human is in a life and death situation, he regresses to a more primitive state. We call this fight or flight, people. His body is producing adrenaline, his rational mind retreats and lets the inner beast take control. This is a natural reaction for most humans. YOU are NOT most humans. You are Soldiers! You will not allow your thought process to be impeded by such trivial matters. Your mind is the most lethal weapon in your arsenal, you will not allow fear to take it away from you!
He continued taking his deep breaths, feeling the rush of adrenaline fade into the background as his system calmed down.
Finally he took another step toward the imposing demon and cracked his trademark grin, "Come on, ugly. I don't know about you but I haven't got all night."
*****
It breathed heavily as it stalked around the edge of the clearing. It had been tracking its prey for three days, only to find itself beaten to the punch by a human. It snarled low in its throat, but held back. The Human had staked his claim to this one, but there were others in the area. In the meantime perhaps it would find the human entertaining, not likely it admitted to himself but sometimes the humans could surprise you.
*****
Things were going somewhat better then Xander had expected. Of course all that meant was that he was still breathing and relatively whole. After the first minute of the fight he was bleeding from a dozen shallow cuts to his arms and chest from the demons claws, for which he had inflicted a few minor bruises on the Demon which had apparently served only to severly piss him off.
Xander ducked another swipe that was intended to take his head off and retaliated by swinging Elan into the demon's knee. It howled out in pain and dropped it's arms solidly down onto Xander's back, driving the boy to the ground.
Ouch. Xander rolled clear as the Demon stomped the ground where he had been laying, barely clearing the area before the hooked claws that passed for the demon's toes sliced into the ground.
Jesus, I wish Buffy were here. Xander scrambled to his feet, using the staff as a prop to pull himself to his feet. "For such an ugly SOB you pack a mean punch, bozo."
Are you sure it's wise to aggravate him? Elanthielle asked mildly as the demon charged Xander again in a rage.
"Shut up, Elan." Xander muttered as he connected with the Demon's jaw in passing. "I'm busy right now."
Elanthielle shut up, though Xander was left with the distinct impression that he was going to pay for saying that. He mentally shrugged and sidestepped the demons next charge, swinging Elan like a baseball bat into the back of the demons head as it passed. Xander smirked as the demon was driven to the ground by the impact.
"That had to hurt."
The Demon growled and rolled back to its feet, staring at Xander for a long moment while it caught it's breath. "You're tenacious, human."
"You're ugly, demon."
It growled again, but came in slowly this time, refusing to be baited by the humans sharp tongue. It ducked under the staff, and lashed out with a claw strike to Xander's belly that drew blood. Backing off momentarily the demon grinned, licking blood off its claws, "Tasty. I'm looking forward to some more."
"Stand in line, Bozo." Xander snapped back, "You ain't the first to say that."
Man. How sad is my life? That was actually TRUE. Xander shook off the thought and held the staff in a defensive position, warding the demon off. He;s gonna take me... not a damned thing I can do about it.
Elanthielle considered Xander's thoughts. That wasn't entirely true, and she was about to speak when a series of shots rang out and distracted her.
The demon dropped, screaming in pain. "It burns!"
Xander looked at the writhing demon is shock, then he twisted his head around looking for the source of the shots. He was shocked when he saw the priest standing at the edge of the field with an old colt revolver, smoking, in his hand.
*****
The priest flipped open the revolver, feeding a speed loader into the six open holes. Flipping the weapon shut with a practiced flick of his wrist he made the sign of the cross over the weapon and muttered in latin.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost I bless thee.
*****
Xander stared at the old man in shock. He blessed his bullets!
The demon was writhing on the ground, screaming incoherently about the pain.
"Cool." Xander grinned as he looked at the Demon, "Blessed bullets don't kill the sucker, but he sure don't enjoy them either."
Xander tipped his head to the old priest and stepped forward, drawing his machete with his left hand. "I don't suppose you'd promise to go home if I let you go?"
The demon on the ground started cursing through the pain, "I'll eat your entrails you..."
Xander winced at the string of obscenities that came form the creatures mouth and shook his head. God, these things are stupid. He grimaced in distaste as he swung the machete down, severing the demon's head with a stroke.
As the demon's corpse gurgled it's last Xander collapsed onto his ass, breathing hard as his body let itself start to shut down.
"Shit." He moaned as he flopped down on his back, "I hate this crap."
*****
Hardly impressive, though the human is probably tougher then most of his soft-skinned brethren. All things considered it had been an enjoyable show, but now it was faced with the dilemma of what to hunt since its prey was dead.
A flicker of motion attracted it's attention. Ah. There are the prey's comrades. They will do nicely.
*****
Xander was laying prone on the ground, bleeding from a dozen places as his chest heaved from the exertion. He could see Terry, The Priest, and the young girl walk up to him. He weakly pulled Elan over to him and deactivated the weapon, sliding her into the canvas sheath with a painful motion.
"Hey guys." He smile weakly, "I thought I told you to stay in the car?"
The Priest chuckled slightly, "I apologize for my rash actions."
"Naw," Xander said as he painfully rolled to his feet, "Don't apologize to me for that of all things. I'm a lot of things, but I'm no hypocrite. I've done the same and worse in the past couple years, usually with results somewhat less positive then yours."
"Well then," the old man smiled, "I'll accept that as a compliment."
"You do that." Xander said as he walked across the clearing and retrieved the two pistols he'd dropped. Snapping them into their leathers he turned and headed back to the small group. "Helluva night, huh guys?"
Terry smiled weakly, the priest chuckled lightly, and the young girl giggled almost hysterically at the comment.
Wasn't that funny, girl. Xander thought, watching her carefully. She was going to need help... Help that was very hard to find in this world. Her best hope would be the priest, Xander decided.
"Is it over?" her voice was timid, but clear. Better then some he's heard in the past.
"Yeah," Xander smiled at her through the pain. "Im pretty sure it's ove..."
Xander was cut off by a horrible screech that came form the surrounding trees.
*****
Xander arrived at the scene of a struggle a few seconds later, limping and breathing hard when he did. He hoped to hell that it wasn't another thing like the last one, cause he wasn't fit to walk let alone fight.
There was nothing more then a dropped knife that looked ceremonial, and a lot of broken branches and splattered blood.
"Shit."
"What?"
Xander spun around to see that the other three had followed behind him, "Are you guys crazy? Get her out of here!"
The priest ignored him, and looked around. "What happened?"
Xander sighed, kicking dirt over a pool of blood. "I don't know. Another one of them maybe? Could have been anyth..."
Again he was cut off in mid sentence as a crash of breaking branches startled all four of them. Xander jumped back as a body hit the ground inches from his position, slapping into the dirt with a boneless thud that told everyone present that it was quite dead.
Xander's pistols were out in a flash as he scanned the tree's for whatever dropped the body. Seeing nothing after several moments he slipped them back into leather, but didn't snap the holsters shut.
He kneeled at the body for a moment and was surprised to find that it was a Demon. A headless demon at that.
"Awww... sick." Xander groaned as he flipped the body over to see that its head had been literally ripped from the creature, along with a sizable portion of its spine.
The fucking night ain't over yet. Xander moaned at the thought. How the hell am I going to find this thing? Let alone stay alive afterwards.
I can help. Whispered Elan into his mind.
You can? Do it. Xander ordered mentally, not bothering to ask questions.
You should think on this, Alexander. Her voice was earnest but he ignored it.
No. Do what you can. I need to find whatever did this, Demon's often kill their henchmen when they fail. I don't want the ringleader getting away.
Elanthielle sighed, Very well. She dug into her abilities and tapped into the boy.
Xander was kneeling with his eyes away from his companions, which was just as well because they suddenly glowed with an eerie green light for a brief moment before the color faded back to normal. He smiled, a feral grin, and slowly stood up and sniffed at the air.
He slowly turned towards the three people standing behind him and looked them over with barely concealed disdain. Fishing the keys to his car out of his pocket he tossed them to the Old priest.
"Take these. Return to town. I'm going hunting." Xander pulled Elan from it's sheath and activated the ancient weapon before turning and loping off through the woods at a nearly inhuman pace.
*****
The priest reflexively caught the keys as they flew towards him and watched worriedly as the boy's body language changed. His whole manner altered, exuding pure confidence and an almost bestial aggression. He didn't have a chance to answer before the boy vanished into the night, and could only turn to his companions and smile wanly.
"So, Terrance," he began weakly, "Will I be seeing you at my next sermon?"
Terry looked at the colt revolver in the old man's hands and flashed a smile of his own, "Father, I can safely say that I will NEVER miss another Sunday at church."
"Hell," He continued as they marched toward the car, "If I'd known you were my kinda preacher, Father Cranston, I'd never have missed any in the first place."
*****
The Hyena marveled at the world around him, the sensations he hadn't experienced in over two years. The wind rushed past him as he sped through the trees, ducking and weaving through the branches that reached out for him as he passed. He was tracking a scent, a bizarre, completely foreign scent that triggered some bestial warning within him.
A predator was on the move.
Every instinct in his body told him to run. They told him to run for his life in the opposite direction with every ounce of strength at his disposal. But, try as he might he couldn't run. Something else was forcing him on, pushing him toward the confrontation he desperately wanted to avoid.
He was an alpha. The top dog of the pack. Those whispers fought against the urges to run, pushing his instincts to survive with his desire to remain the top dog. They told him that the scent was a challenger. Another alpha who wanted his place in the world. A position that he refused to give up. Ever.
*****
Elanthielle would have been breathing hard if she needed to breath. Keeping the boy's Hyena persona under control was incredibly hard work, a matter of whispering the right words into its mind every few moments or risk losing the tenuous grasp she had on it.
Alexander was almost completely subsumed by the spirit, only a few pieces of him remaining in the forefront of the spirit now. Pieces that had controlled the spirits blood lust for the few moments required to send the Priest and his companions home. Pieces that allowed her to direct the rage of the beast against it's prey.
He was strong, but the spirit was stronger in this form. Elanthielle was glad that it would not last, but she feared for Alexander's life when the spirit broke.
*****
The Hyena didn't pause when it reached the stream, it dug the staff into the bank and vaulted the twenty foot span with breaking pace. The situation disturbed the Hyena, it felt trapped by something it didn't understand. And when backed into a corner it had only one option remaining. It had decided to locate it's prey quickly, and eliminate it as a threat.
The scent was getting stronger as it moved, the prey was slowing down.
*****
It stopped. Something was wrong. It balanced itself on a tree limb and looked back, waiting patiently as only a hunter can. There was nothing for long moments, then it saw what was trailing it. The human.
It almost laughed.
Almost.
Something was different now, wrong somehow. For someone who had nearly died in a fight a few moments earlier this human was moving remarkably well. Better then it had before the battle.
He hadn't come close to feeling fulfilled on this hunt, the locals he had found were of a pitiful variety. It was difficult to find decent prey this far from the major population centers. Perhaps this little one would be fun to play with.
With that thought in mind the hunter began to circle back.
*****
Sniffing at the air the Hyena paused in its loping run, looking curiously from tree to tree. The prey was circling. His face broke slowly into a wide, feral, grin.
"Ohhhh.... Hunted wants to be the hunter... let's see who's the Alpha around here."
The Hyena ducked through the shrubs, following the forest trail that led away from the grove. Staying on the path that he knew had been prepared for him to follow. Hyena in sheeps clothing to the slaughter. But who's slaughter? He could feel the prey, moving behind him now. Preparing. Waiting. Stalking.
He smiled, this one didn't know who he was dealing with.
He had to force back the urge to bubble in laughter at the joy he felt in the hunt. Two years he'd been cramped up, unable to breath, unable to hunt. Unable to kill.
It was his time again.
*****
It was behind the human now, tracking it's thermal pattern easily as it raced through the wooded area along the false path. It tagged the boy, targeting him easily.
It smiled an inhuman smile and opened fire.
*****
The Hyena felt an odd sensation along the back of it's neck and spun quickly about. Seeing noone it moved its hand along its neck and froze at what it saw. On it's hand were three red lines, forming a triangle that floated along its skin.
The soldier memories clicked, snapping out two words and a command. Laser sight! Move!
The Hyena twisted as a blast ripped past where it had been standing, missing by mere inches, and splintered a huge pine tree behind him. Almost instantly the Hyena's senses felt the gentle tickle of the beam float across its skin again, causing him to twist violently in the opposite direction.
The second blast came even closer, raising a wisp of smoke on the Hyena's clothing as it vaporized several stray fibers of cloth.
The second shot was all the Soldier memories needed to triangulate the shooter's position, and the Hyena leapt into the brush.
*****
It was stunned. The human had been tagged, and it still evaded fire. That shouldn't have been possible, especially for a human. And it did it *twice*. Dodging a plasma bolt was possible with some luck, but twice in a row precluded luck. This human was beginning to impress.
*****
The Hyena deactivated Elan as it dove through the shrubs, tucking the ancient weapon close to it's chest as the branches tore at its clothing. Normally it would have tossed the thing away as worthless, preferring to do it's damage with its claws, but the voices inside whispered and cajoled it into keeping the weapon.
The Military spirit showed it images of all the nasty things it could do with what was strapped to its body. The soft gentle voice told it how it could use the staff, and how it could fight the hunter it was hunting. But most annoying was the quiet, but strong, voice that kept it from running. Kept it to its task. That voice, it wished it could shut out.
It ignored the branches that swept past, focusing on the scents in the air as it closed the distance to the prey. The Hyena grinned nastily when it smelled something familiar. Shock. It wasn't fear, but it would do.
*****
It was moving fast, actually being run from its position by the sheer surprise of being charged by a human. It didn't go far, only relocated to a different tree so it would get the drop on the human. But it was still bothered by how fast the human moved.
Mentally it shrugged, the trophy would be worth more this way. It had seen the human with a staff, so it could meet the human in kind. It pulled its own staff from the sheath on its back, extending the three foot device to a five foot weapon topped with eight inch blades and waited for its prey to arrive.
*****
The Hyena paused, looking oddly at a tree in the near distance. He could feel something wrong practically emanating from that spot. And the longer he stared the more it felt like something was staring back.
Abruptly he saw it. A blur that moved through the branches, a blur that was staring back at him. The Hyena grinned nastily, held Elan aloft, and activated the weapon. The staff bucked in his hand, extending to its full length, and gleamed in the moon light.
A challenge offered.
*****
A challenge accepted.
It dropped from the tree's, falling twenty feet to the ground and landing solidly in front of the human, absorbing the shock with flexed knees. It dropped it's stealth and stalked up to the human, raising its own staff in salute.
*****
"Oh... so the big boy wants to play with sticks does he?"
The Hyena grinned and shifted to a battle stance, staff extended toward the seven foot tall monster.
The thing was waiting when the Hyena made the first move, easily blocking the staff as it slashed for its head. The Hyena responded with a reversal, bringing the metal pole back and striking out again at the creatures legs.
It hopped easily over the strike, lashing out at the Human with the heavy blades on its own battle staff.
"Not fast enough." The Hyena taunted as he evaded the strike.
The two combatants floated back and forth, driving strikes at each other intended to main, kill, or paralyze the enemy, but each always staying one step ahead of the other. The creature struck with speed and brute force, often destroying smaller trees that were in the way when the Hyena evaded a strike. The Hyena would respond with a speed and agility almost impossible for a human to achieve, coupled with a brutal viscousness that added to the damage of its attacks.
As the battle wore on the creature began to gain the upper hand, its stunning strength beating the Hyena slowly into submission. It forced the hyena backwards, one step after another, until it tripped on an exposed root and was sent tumbling to the ground. Under its mask the creature smiled its alien smile and moved in for the kill.
The Hyena twisted, trying to get to it's feet but the creature was on top of him already. As the creatures pike came at him, the Hyena struck it aside with Elan, flinching as the blades drove themselves deep into the earth by it's head. The two combatants grappled, their weapons useless in the close quarters of the fight, and again the Hyena found itself inexorably losing the battle to the creatures superior strength.
That was when the soldier's voice whispered to him, telling him what to do again.
The hyena reached for his ankle, drawing the blade it had forgotten about, in a slow and painful maneuver. The creature's talons were ripping at his throat while the Hyena drew back and jammed the carbon black blade into the creatures thigh as far as it would go.
It roared in pain, relinquishing its hold on the Hyena and falling back to scramble furiously at its wound.
The Hyena was on its feet in an instant, kicking Elan up into the air and catching the ancient weapon with a finesse that came with its natural agility. It lashed out twice, bashing the weapon against the creatures head and causing sparks to fly from the mask the creature was wearing.
"Come on ugly, I thought you wanted to play?"
Again he struck out with the staff, this time knocking the mask clean off the creature's head and exposing the creature for the first time. Its face was almost a caricature of horror, with four fangs at each corner of its mouth and an evil countenance.
"Man. I was right on the dollar when I called ya Ugly." The Hyena drew back to end the fight with one more blow when a sudden wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to stumble backwards.
"Oh, hell..." He mumbled as he staggered forward again, intent on finishing the fight before he weakened again. "what is happennnnn....."
The Hyena's entire world went black and he fell forward across the Hunter's body, his own body suddenly as limp as a wet noodle.
*****
The Hunter stared in shock as the human stumbled. He didn't understand what had happened, the human had won. The human should have killed him. But the human had fallen.
The hunter staggered to its feet, and looked over its fallen prey for wounds. Finding none that could account for the sudden collapse it just stared at the body in puzzlement. The human had fallen, so the trophy was his by rights.
But. The human had not fallen by his hands, of this he was certain. Besides, the human was a worthy hunter. As powerful as any Yautja, and he would not disgrace so strong a hunter in that manner.
Finally the young Yautja kneeled down and, with surprising gentleness, picked up the fallen human. No. The fallen hunter. And, in an easy loping stride, he turned and headed back in the direction of his ship.
*****
Yautja Spacecraft, Two Days later
Xander groaned as his eyes flickered open. Oh man, that hurts.
He moved his head, slowly, to take in his surroundings. There was an odd mist drifting across the floor, and the room seemed constructed of archways.
"Where the hell am I?" He struggled to sit upright, his vision sparkling with white lights as he did so.
When there was no answer he tried to focus and search the room more carefully. Beside him lay Elan, looking like the weapon had been carefully placed by his side. He was still wearing the twin Colt's, and the rest of his gear except for the Tanto knife. That was laying at his feet, still covered in green blood.
He picked up Elan and deactivated the weapon, returning it to its sheath. Elan, what the hell happened?
The Weapon's voice slipped back into his mind, You blacked out during the fight.
Why did the Hyena take over? Xander's mental tone was tense.
Elan came back quietly, It was the only way to boost you high enough to be able to survive another fight. I did try to warn you.
Next time, try harder.
There was only silence in response, until finally Xander sighed and gave in. Why did I... The Hyena black out? That never happened the first time.
When you were possessed by the spirit the first time, you were linked to the Earth Spirit that empowered it. This time it had only your own internal reserves to power the enhancements.
I ran out of GAS? Xander asked incredulously.
There was another long pause while Elan searched his mind in an attempt to understand the phrase. In its most basic form... yes.
Xander stared brooding at the wall for a long moment, So where am I anyway?
That would be, as you say, the bad news.
"Huh?"
You're on a spacecraft that has been traveling away from Earth for almost two full days now.
Elan waiting for a response, but none was forthcoming. First a minute passed, then two, then five. Finally she tried again. Alexander? Please answer me, Alexander.
Don't call me that. My name is Xander, Elan.
And mine is Elanthielle, Alexander.
We're actually on a spaceship? Xander asked very slowly.
We are.
Why?
Elan was silent for a moment, That is a very difficult question. I'm not certain, but I think that you impressed the creature.
"So he kidnaped me?"
Essentially.
"Oh bloody fricking beautiful."
*****
Xander had just finished checking his gear when he heard a noise from the far side of the room, near one of the open arches. His pistols cleared leather as his military memories prodded his instincts with an urgency he had rarely felt.
He had to fight down the urge to open fire when the creature he remembered from the Hyena's battle literally appeared out of thin air, a cannon mounted on its shoulder tracing a line through the air between them.
Xander swallowed, This is real bad. Even if I can take him with a pair of .45's, I'd be stuck on this ship. Shit.
Xander twisted the guns away from the creature, pointing their muzzles at the ceiling and then, moving very slowly, he returned them to their leathers.
The seven foot creature stalked closer to him, a taloned fist reaching out towards Xander. Xander held his ground, forcing down the urge to run in fear. A single talon touched Xander on the chest and the creature spoke.
"Oooman." it rasped.
Xander blinked.
"Human?"
"Ooman."
"Human. Yes, I'm human." Xander wasn't sure where this was going.
The taloned fist retracted, until the creature thumped itself once on the chest and spoke again.
"Yautja."
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in a national geographic special?
Elan's voice cut into his thoughts sternly. This is hardly the time to be flippant, Alexander. The Yautja is introducing himself. Do the same.
Do you know these guys?
Elan paused for a second. Yes. They were well known when I was alive, but none of them dared approach Earth in that time.
Me and you are going to have a long talk soon. Xander promised the weapon as he stepped forward and repeated the creatures motions, touching it on the chest. "Yeocha."
"Yautja."
"Yeotja."
The creature seemed to nod, as if that was close enough. Next is tapped itself again. "Ruatcha."
"Ruatcha?" Xander repeated, "Is that your name?"
"Ruatcha" The creature tapped itself again, then touched Xander questioningly.
Xander got it. He thumped his own fist over his heart and said, "Xander."
"Sanda?"
"Let's try that again." Xander repeated the motion, "Xander." He enunciated carefully.
"Ssander."
"Close enough." He smirked, opting not to show his teeth. Maybe some of that sci-fi and fantasy I read will come in handy.
*****
A planet. Somewhere. Later.
Xander remained silent in his perch, asking himself once again how he'd managed to get himself into this mess. By his best calculations he had been 'hunting' with Ruatcha for over a month. But he figured that only because he thought that he'd probably slept about thirty times or so, not counting cat naps. In truth, it was probably longer then that since the Yautja didn't seem to sleep as often or as long as humans tended to and he'd been forced to adapt to their timetable. That alone had been hell for the first couple weeks or so.
It had been a rough relationship in the beginning, Xander didn't really have much use for hunting and it seemed that was all Ruatcha did have a use for. If it weren't for the big Yautja's respect for the Hyena, Xander figured that he'd already be a decoration in the ship's trophy room.
The seventeen-year-old shuddered. The 'Trophy' room was enough to give him nightmares on his nightmares. Skulls from a dozen species littered the room, a fair portion of which were human.
Only his sense of self preservation, and Elan's calming words, allowed him to keep his cool after his single trip to that room. After that confrontation, Ruatcha seemed to question his strength and fortitude.
That caused another shudder. He had to resort to bluster and bluff to work his way out of that one. He all but challenged the bastard to a fight. He'd never been so relieved as when Ruatcha broke out laughing in appreciation of his actions.
"Yeyinde." The big alien laughed and clapped Xander on the back.
If I ever get back to Earth there is no way in hell that any fuckin Vamp is going to scare me again.
Maybe three weeks ago they had arrived on this planet. Nice place to visit, Xander had though at the time. Now he knew better. The damned place was infested with creatures that made demons look warm and cuddly. Xander remembered the second day after they had arrived, and shuddered again at the thought.
*****
Three weeks earlier.
The planet looked like a lush tropical jungle as far as he could see. Hell it looked the same as far as he could see from orbit when they landed. This was the second planet they'd visited in the time Xander had been traveling with the elder Yautja. They had just left a world less then a day earlier that for some reason didn't satisfy the Yautja's desires.
No surprise there, Xander shivered, the damn world seemed to be in a freaking glacial age.
"Kainde amedha."
Xander turned in confusion. He'd been piecing together word here and there, a lot faster then he would have thought possible, but those words were not part of his vocabulary. "What?"
"Kainde amedha. Setg'-in."
Now that word he caught. Setg'-in. Fast and Dangerous. Shit, I so don't want to see what HE thinks is dangerous.
Xander was wearing a light padded armor that Ruatha had given him, he doubted that it would provide him with much protection but it had kept him warm on the ice cube they had just left. Other then that, however, he was packing the same gear he had come aboard with. He glanced at the combat armor the big alien was wearing with some envy.
I don't suppose you have any idea what those first words meant, do you Elan?
Xander almost smirked at the annoyance in her voice when she replied. Would you please use my proper name? And, to answer your question, no. I told you, I have very little experience with Yautja language. They did not approach Earth during my day.
Xander sighed, accepting the answer... again.
*****
They headed out into the jungle, the big Yautja remaining on the jungle floor out of 'tolerance' for Xander's limitations. Though, Xander didn't figure that would last for much longer. The big guy seemed to be a big believer in the 'sink or swim' philosophy.
Ruatha walked along side Xander, pointing out things in the jungle quickly and quietly as they passed them. Most of it went over the boy's head, but he managed to pick up what he considered the most important.
Don't eat this, poison. Don't touch that, dangerous. And so forth.
*****
The had traveled perhaps a mile when Ruatha stopped them and ran one of his wrist blades along the length of a tree. "Te'dqi."
Another word Xander hadn't heard yet. He was about to ask when Ruatha went to a battle alert, snapping Xander into a combat stance as well. The twin Colt's cleared leather as he tracked along the path Ruatha was looking.
Six of the ugliest things Xander had ever seen, Ruatha included, were charging toward them with absolute disregard for subtlety. Ruatha fired his shoulder cannon from fifty yards, and Xander opened up an instant later.
The first of the black creatures fell to Ruatha's plasma caster, then a second. It wasn't until Xander had almost emptied both clips into one of them that it staggered and fell. The other three soon closed within the Plasma Caster's minimum distance, causing Ruatha to draw his war staff.
Xander popped the remaining bullets from his clips into the lead creature before tossing the handguns to either side and whipping Elan from her sheath.
Xander and Ruatha stood side by side as the two healthy creatures charged past the one Xander wounded, each selecting one of the two defenders to charge. Xander stood his ground, bracing Elan along his arm, and waited. He could hear Ruatha growling in excitement, or laughter... He wasn't really sure which.
They waited for the two things to get less then three feet away before the two defenders struck. Ruatha thrust forward with his Combi-Stick, skewering the creature with a fluid grace.
Xander activated Elan at the last possible instant, the force of the weapons activation sending the end of the staff through the tough outer shell that covered the creature. Xander winced at the harsh shrieks that sounded through the air as the two things were injured, but withdrew the staff in a swift motion and swept it around in a viscous arc that caved in the creatures skull at the point where the weapon had damaged the carapace, dropping it to the ground.
Xander panted, the battle tension still riding high in him as he turned to look at Ruatha. For some reason he didn't fathom the wounded creature had elected to team up with the one attacking the Yautja, and while they were both wounded they were still mobile to a certain degree. Xander moved to the big Yautja's side, using Elan to fend off one of the thing on Ruatha's right side.
When his arm was freed the big Yautja extended the claws from his wrist and slashed at the one on his left side, ripping its throat in one swipe. He turned to see Xander fending off the other with his staff, and laughed in appreciation of the spectacle.
"Hey! A little help here!" Xander muttered between pants as he batted the creatures claws away again. Finally he managed to land a solid blow to the creatures jaw, actually ripping a large section of it off and dropping the thing to the ground. He soldier instincts took over and he thrust Elan down into the creature, finally stilling its horrid screams.
Leaning heavily on Elan, Xander panted and looked at the fallen creatures in distaste. He leaned forward to touch one when Ruatha grabbed him back, speaking urgently.
"Thei-de Thwei"
Xander looked down at the creatures, then at the places their blood had landed. Wherever it had touched a wisp of smoke was rising, and even the ground itself was being eaten away.
Thei-de Thwei. 'Death Blood' indeed. Xander shivered, What kind of hell hole is this place?
*****
Present Time
Xander shivered again at the memory, damn creatures were as dangerous dead as they were alive. He'd never thought it possible to find a species he found more vile then Vampires, but this... things... were on a whole different level. Like the vamps, they were parasites, their entire existence depending on other species as hosts.
Another shudder passed through him as he remembered the scene in the lair they had tracked the creatures too. Some of the local primates had been stuck to the walls by what Ruatha called 'Te'dqi' and were writhing in terror as they passed. Xander had moved to help them loose, but the big Yautja had pulled him back urgently.
Xander didn't think that he'd ever be able to lose the nightmares of what followed. Those things as they burst... He shook his head, clearing the memories before they would flood back. Xander wasn't stupid, and with the information he could recall from the Soldier and the ever so helpful input from Elan he knew that he wasn't 'well'.
Shell Shock. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was weird being on this side of the line. He'd seen so much and pulled through in the past few years that he's started to think that nothing could phase him. And, of course, as soon as he thought that he was screwed.
Then again, Xander mused, is it possible to have Shell Shock if you know you have it?
He shrugged it off. Maybe it's not Shell Shock, maybe I'm just becoming jaded.
*****
Halliwell Manor House, San Fransisco California, August 23rd '99
Prue walked into the attic to find your youngest sister sitting and staring at a bowl of water, a melancholy look on her face.
"What's wrong, Phoebe?" Prue's voice was filled with concern.
"I'm worried about Xander." Phoebe answered, "He hasn't been answering any of my emails.. So I cast a divining spell to find him..."
"And?"
"Nothing." Phoebe eyes were coated with a glistening sheen of tears, "Nothing at all."
"He's dead?" Prue asked tentatively.
"No." Phoebe was certain, "If he were dead or had left this plane if would show as a specific color. Black, white, or a shade of grey."
"What did it show?" Prue asked.
"I told you already. Nothing."
"How is that possible? Did you do the spell wrong?"
Phoebe cradled the book of shadows, "I don't think so. It says in here that when the subject of the spell is nearby the color shifts closer to the blue, being at its deepest if the person is in the same room. The further they are away the more it shifts to the red... A yellowish orange is the highest color listed here... and that's for some place in China."
Prue wasn't following.
Phoebe stared at the divining bowl for a long moment, "The only thing I can think of is that the color shifted into the infra-red."
Prue stared at her little sister in shock, "How far away would he have to be for that to happen?"
"I don't know."
*****
Present Time
He couldn't see Ruatha from his position, but he knew that the elder Yautja was out there. Watching.
Xander did a quick inventory again, checking his equipment with trepidation. The big Yautja had insisted that Xander leave his pistols behind, as he himself left the Plasma Caster at the ship. The best Elan had to say about it that it was probably a ritual hunt of some sort, a test of courage.
On the bright side Xander had been afforded some, ill fitting, armor that actually seemed useful. At least it's not a suicide test of some sort.
He looked over the scene from his perch, thirty feet above the jungle floor, watching the comings and goings of the beasts below through the eerie heat vision the armor's mask provided. From what he could tell that option was nearly useless when tracking the things they were hunting, but as long as the area teemed with 'normal' life it was a safe bet that those things were nowhere to be found.
For the hundredth time in an hour Xander sighed, this wasn't like him at all and he knew it. The last thing he wanted to do was hunt anything, with the possible exception of vamps. These creatures, though, were a plague at least as bad as Vampires... though for different reasons. And, he sighed again, since I'm here...
It was at that point that he saw the rapid scattering of the heat signs below, a sure indication that a local predator was on the prowl. He quickly scanned the area and, seeing nothing, switched the helm's heat register off and relied on his own eyes as much as the equipment would let him.
*****
Ruatha watched as the human shifted the visual spectrum on his gear, nodding at the move. The Kainde amedha were in the area, and the trial would shortly begin. The old Yautja had enjoyed the time he'd spent with the young human, even finding the human's constant chattering and joking to be amusing. He wondered often if the human would ever realize that he could understand many more languages then the human could guess at, and that English was one of the more recent ones he had learned.
He growled in laughter at the thought.
Any of the young warriors would have killed the boy when he blacked out, but Ruatha had grown bored over the centuries. It was occasionally interesting to hunt alongside one who might normally be prey, particularly when he was a Yeyinde as this one was. If he survived this he would be blooded, though he would never be a true hunter... He was too much of Kine'Iende.
*****
The things moved slowly beneath him, slowly and warily. Xander wondered how smart they really were from time to time over the past three weeks. They were pretty stupid individually, but they were often capable of acting together with a cleverness that put most vamps Xander had known to shame.
Still, they might have been Patton himself and it wouldn't have saved this group. Xander dropped from the trees, landed squarely in the center of the trio of beasts. He lined up the collapsed staff with two of the creatures and activated the ancient weapon, penetrating both alien skulls as they turned to hiss at him.
Christ. Three weeks of sink or swim changes you damned fast. Ruatha had made it quite clear that Xander had to fight or die early on, and Xander had a very healthy desire for life.
He retracted Elan as the two creatures fell, and whipped the battle staff around to connect with the third as it charged him. Not for the first time, he thanked whatever Gods there were that Elan was not only impervious to the Alien's acid, but also seemed to cause it to slide off like water off a non-stick frying pan.
Well I would hardly be indestructible if I allowed every dime store acid and lava pool to tarnish my surface now would I?
"Less mid-battle chatter, Elan. More carnage." Xander jammed the staff into the creature as it lunged, dropping back into a roll, flipping the horror into the jungle behind him.
He rolled over to his front, and climbed quickly to his feet as he watched for the creature to return. When it did, it struck at him from his right flank, ramming into him hard enough to jolt Elan from his grasp and drive them both to the ground in a tangle of claws and limbs.
"Sonuva!" Xander muttered through his mask as he hit the ground, a hissing and screaming creature clawing at his armored form.
*****
Ruatha watched the human's opening move and growled in appreciation. It was smooth, brutal, and effective. He hadn't seen better in a long time, even among the Yautja. He almost regretted not killing the human and taking his staff as a trophy, but he doubted the thing would operate for him anyway.
He was old enough to remember the stories of when others wielded those weapons, and weapons of similar power. Old enough to have been glad that those days were gone. The wielders of those weapons were Kine'Iende like the human. They didn't approve of the hunt, and they were able to enforce their will.
Now though he was not so sure. If the Kine'Iende returned then they would make for worthy prey.
Ruatha watched the boy struggle with the Kainde amedha with growing excitement. With luck, there would be worthy times ahead.
*****
Xander slowly forced the creatures claws back, away from his mask, and lashed out with as powerful a kick as he could muster. It did nothing more then push the creature back a few feet, but that allowed him to pull his heavy bladed machete from its sheath and flip back to his feet.
Xander and the alien circled each other warily, looking for any openings to exploit. The alien moved first, swiping at Xander's blade arm as it lunged in, hissing. Xander danced back from the swipe and then moved forward to meet the creature's lunge. The two combatants met face to mouth, war cries erupting from them both as they clashed.
When the creature's mouth opened Xander was waiting, his machete already slashing across the predictable path of the inner mandible, slicing it and spattering acid through the air. The creature drew back in pain as the mandible dropped to the ground, and Xander pressed his advantage. He swept the smoking blade down in an overhead strike that ended with the remnants of the once heavy blade buried deep in the creatures black carapace.
As the final thing dropped to the jungle floor Xander quickly grabbed up Elan and looked around for any others that might have approached. Seeing none, he looked back down at the last alien and pulled the machete clear of its skull. He slowly turned the misshapen blade and watched as the metal smoked and dissolved before his eyes.
He suddenly hissed in pain as the back of his neck burned. Scrabbling at the armor he pulled it off, only to see that a few splatters of acid had eaten through the neck guard and eventual reached his skin.
His hand was stopped inches from attempting to wipe it off by the big fist of Ruatha, who nodded down at the shorter human in respect and applied a counter agent to the acid on the boys neck. Xander sighed as the cooling sensation spread, easing the pain, then he moaned at the realization that it was certainly going to leave a scar.
I really want to go home and only have to worry about vampires and the occasional demon.
*****
A week later
They had been straying further afield over the past week, tracking the trails of the alien creatures through the winding jungle paths for days at a time. Xander blessed both Elan and her abilities to pull up his soldier memories during these times because living off the land wasn't something his civilian life had exactly prepared him for. Ruatha had fully equipped him for the hunt after the 'test incident' a week earlier, and Xander was glad to have the extra gear that came with the cut down hunting armor he was wearing.
He was using the cloak system as he moved though not to, as he found out the hard way, hide from the aliens since they seemed to see right through it, but instead to avoid scaring the other animals and thus warn their prey. He had something Elan called a plasma caster mounted on his shoulder, and a retrofitted control system for it and the mask he wore was tied into the armors gauntlets and wrist computer.
'Wrist computer'. Now, that thing was a pain. He had to learn an entirely new alphabet to use that thing, or at least the symbols that corresponded to the options in the suit. Trial and error, he reflected, is not the best way to test a personal weapon system.
Hey, Elan chimed in, Seems to be the only way you learn.
Elanthielle had been riding him about the broken toe incident ever since he fired off a plasma bolt that nearly fried Ruatha. It was lucky for him that the big hunter seemed to have a sense of humor that matched his own.
"Oh, shut up."
*****
He shook his reverie away as he approached the watering area they had been watching over for the past couple days. Ruatha seemed quite certain that a group of the things were going to come through here soon, though how he knew Xander wasn't sure.
Xander paused when he saw the local wildlife scampering for the hills. From past experience he knew that they didn't tend to run from him or Ruatha, though they did keep their distance. He quickly hopped up and snagged a low branch, pulling himself up into the jungle canopy to watch the scene unfold.
Motion from below him caught his attention, but it wasn't moving like the creatures. Xander thumbed his mask over to thermal vision and confirmed the thought. Even through the obstruction of the jungle foliage he could easily see the heat signature of the creature below, and even the long heat trail it had left behind it.
He observed it as it approached the water, not moving to get a clearing picture for fear of scaring it away. That was when he saw the first alien creature moving in, following the heat trail. He'd have missed it except that the creature stood out against the warm trail the first animal had left behind. Xander quickly shifted his helmet controls to the normal visible spectrum and monitored the alien as it stalked the animal.
He tagged the creature with the laser targeting system, examining the three dimensional display the helmet gave him. Hey... This thing is different from the ones we ran into a few days from here. Xander knew from several encounters with the creatures that they tended to vary depending on the hosts they used. Ruatcha had a lot to say on the matter, most of which Xander hadn't completely understood.
Still... Idly he tagged the creature's prey with the laser designator and waited for the computer to establish a target profile.
"Holy shit!" Xander barely managed to keep his voice at an urgent whisper.
The creature's prey was human.
*****
Jahna walked cautiously to water, she'd been searching for her husband for over a week and needed a moment to rest. Finding the water was a relief, she hadn't been certain she would be able to locate it as it was normally frequented only by the hunters. She had just kneeled at the water when an evil hiss from behind her caused her to jump around.
What she saw startled her back into the slowly moving water. A black apparition that must have come from the depths of the underworld itself. It seemed to observe her as she sat, frozen, in the water. It cocked its head to one side, its mouth opening and showing its teeth as it hissed at her again. Slowly it stalked toward her as she scrambled backward, slipping on the slick rocks that lay beneath the surface of the stream.
It was right on top of her when a splash a short distance away startled both her and the beast, attracting their attention. She watched as a blurry section of air became covered in blue white lightning that finally flickered out as an armored figure came into sight.
"Devils and demons" she whispered in terror as the figure stalked toward her and the black beast.
*****
Xander slowly moved toward the creature, unwilling to use the plasma caster on his shoulder since the creature was hovering over the girl and the acid splash back would likely kill her. He drew Elan and flicked the weapon to its full length and gestured a challenge to the black monstrosity.
"Here doggy doggy doggy..."
*****
Ruatha snorted in disgust as he watched the human challenge the Kainde amedha. He was supposed to be tracking, not hunting. The boy was certainly no hunter, his mind was too soft when it came to the hunt. Ruatha couldn't understand the boys insistence on defending the other human. If she was too weak to hunt then she was of no value to the clan. Leave her to her fate.
*****
Xander continued forward slowly, trying to bait the creature from its prey. The girl was frozen in place, terrorized by the creature and, no doubt, himself. The thing hissed at him, either in defiance or in an attempt to warn him off. In either case, it mattered little to Xander. He wasn't going to leave the girl to become a host for those things.
The creature refused to leave its position, as if knowing that the girl was its only defense against destruction. Xander was forced to move in closer, until he was within staff range of the tensing creature.
When it finally leapt at him, Xander met it in mid air with a sharp strike from his staff that deflected the creatures course into deeper water. It twisted as it struck the water, its talons digging into the soft river bed as it charged out of the water back at Xander's position.
Xander stood his ground, whipping Elan in vicious arc that ripped the creatures jaw off and splattered molecular acid across the running stream. He followed through with a reverse strike that cracked the thing's carapace and dropped it into the water, writhing from the pain. Without giving it time to recover Xander drew back the staff and jammed it into the creature's skull, penetrating the carapace at the point where he had cracked it, and killed the thing.
Xander stepped back from the bubbling and hissing water, pulling the girl with him as he moved clear of the acid that was now being drawn downstream by the current.
"Come on, girl. This isn't the place to go swimming."
*****
Jahna screamed as the armored thing drug her out of the water, babbling something in an arcane language.
"Let me go!" She quailed from the imposing figure, tears of terror running down her face. "Please, whether you be god or demon I care not. Just let me go!"
*****
She's asking you to let her go. Elan sounded faintly amused, She seems confused as to whether you're a demon or a God.
"Huh?" Xander muttered as he got the kicking girl clear of the stream. "How do you know?"
She IS speaking a human language, Alexander. There are very few of those that I do not know.
"Oh."
Xander tried to calm the girl, but she continued to kick at him and try to pull away. He finally let her arm go and held out his hands.
"It's ok."
He slowly tripped the release on his bio-mask, watching as she flinched away as the pressure equalized with a short hiss. He slipped the mask off and held it in the crook of his arm, and smiled at her as reassuringly as possible.
She stopped crawling back and stared at him in shock for a long moment. Then she suddenly rushed him, clinging to him like he was her only lifeline. Xander looked around his eyes desperately search for a way out before he dropped one of his armored hands tentatively to the back of her head.
"It's ok..." he whispered quietly. "Shhhhh... it's ok."
*****
Between sign language and Elan's help Xander managed to get the girl's story from her. She'd been looking for her husband who had been one of the village hunters and had gone missing a week earlier. When she mentioned that Xander couldn't keep his eyes from drifting to the corpse of the alien creature for a brief moment. A moment that was, apparently, not brief enough.
She followed his eyes, and made the connection herself, which brought on another fit of tears. Xander, uncomfortably, held her as gently as he could. He couldn't stand the sight or sound of her tears.
*****
Ruatha watched patiently, waiting to see if the boy was looking for a mate or, preferably, if the two humans would attract some more of the Kainde amedha so he could track them back to their queen.
*****
Xander followed behind the girl as she trudged back to her village, saying nothing as they went for several reasons. First he didn't have anything to say, what could he offer her in the way of comfort? That her husband had probably died screaming while an abomination forced its way out of his ribcage? No. Better for her not to know. And even if he did he couldn't speak her language, not without parroting whatever Elan told him to.
He shook his head, and followed along behind the stricken girl, scanning the jungle carefully as they went. He was relieved to see nothing but normal animals moving beyond the thick cover of the jungles foliage.
*****
As they approached the village, Xander could tell that something was up. The people were milling about, almost in a panic, as they hastily mounted fortifications around the small group of buildings. He could see blood trails that led off into the jungle, and those villagers that were armed were actively scouting the edge of the trees.
Xander shook his head. If it was, as he suspected, the aliens then those scouts were performing suicide missions for no reason.
Their arrival created quite the disturbance, as a large group of people rushed from the village to surround them. Xander nervously fingered the sheath that Elan was secured in, he didn't want to hurt these people but he would defend himself.
The girl he had saved interposed herself between Xander and the villagers, though whether she was doing it to protect Xander or the warriors wasn't entirely clear.
She's telling them that you're a friend. Elan whispered into his mind, She telling them about the creature you killed, and how it was probably what killed her husband. They recognize the description. The creatures attacked during the night, they drug off at least a dozen of the villagers, mostly the warriors who tried to stop them.
Xander winced. He knew that it was already too late to do anything to save those people, the creatures didn't waste time when it came to implantation. Those men were probably still alive, though they likely wished they weren't.
*****
He spent the next several hours helping the villagers with the futile task of fortifying the village. Xander figured that they could do some serious harm to the swarm but, in the end, it wouldn't make a lot of difference. The primitive weapons that were in evidence around the village were not likely to be much of a match for the aliens talons and armored carapaces.
He was showing them how to build a makeshift pit trap when the village echoed with screams and shouts.
"Ooman, Ssander."
Xander turned to see Ruatha stalk into the village, heading straight for him. Time hunt, Ssander.
Xander looked at the big Yautja for a long moment before shaking his head. No. Not hunt. Protect. He waved his hands to encompass the village.
The big Yautja snorted. No protection possible.
Xander nodded reluctantly. I know. But we leave, they all die. We stay, some may live.
No stay. Time for hunt.
Xander was getting angry. No hunt! People more important then trophies!
The Yautja angrily gestured, Not people. These weak... worthless!
No one is worthless! No one!
Ruatha turned away angrily, stalking out of the village. He stopped at the edge of the village, glanced over the terrorized inhabitants, and muttered one last word loud enough for Xander to hear.
Kine'Iende. he spat.
With that the big Yuatja vanished into the air from which he came.
*****