Before Perfection
by The Great Red Dragon


Chapter 27
I would have preferred it to be night when I made my way towards the jungle; there was no less guarantee that the streets would be clear. The sun wasn't up yet, and I had not even my shadow for company. In a while, the streets would be crowded with the hustle and bustle of everyday people…more than ever, I wanted to be among them, even if hidden…and not on my way to some remote spot in the jungle where the unknown waited for me.
The guns attached to my belt made small clinking noises as they swayed into each other from my constant motion. I reached and took one of the Uzis from its place and held it before me as I walked. An Uzi is a small submachine gun that's shaped almost like a 'T'. The magazine rests right inside of the grip, and the firing chamber that connected to the muzzle was positioned right above that, in an almost perfect 90 degree angle. It wasn't the most accurate gun, but I had modified the muzzles to increase the attribute that lacked.
I thought about my weapons because they gave me a slight feeling of superiority…but that sense wasn't much; the Predator had weapons decades ahead of what I carried. There was no way that I was going to win a gunfight against him. My hope was that I could fool the Predator into a hand-to-hand fight; I was more confident about my grappling skills than my firepower.

However, something had just occurred to me – something so strange that I stopped in my tracks to ponder the thought…
I didn't want to kill him.
Standing there, in the middle of the dark, abandoned street, it seemed the craziest thing in the world; why didn't I want to kill him? Why wasn't my adrenaline rushing at the thought of ripping him apart? He had caused me and my family so much grief – he deserved to die!

…But did he?
I scratched at my head thoughtfully, and felt the Uzi's slick grip rub against my scalp.
Somehow, my will to destroy was gone, and seemingly replaced with something else…was it sentimentality?
I almost giggled, and it would've been in amazement: the most basic instinct that I had been born with had left me. I tried to make it come back, but it wouldn't! Why didn't I want to kill the Predator? I tried to tell myself that I wanted to, but a voice louder than before told me to stop fooling myself; I had become a softie. A softie with beltful of guns and grenades that I didn't even want to use, heading towards a battle that I didn't even want to fight, against an enemy who I would've preferred to have shaken hands with and called a truce.
Somehow, I couldn't repress a smile, and I shook my head as I continued walking.

"Goddamn, Riley…what the Hell have you done to me?"
When I finally made it to the jungle, the horizon was beginning to brighten. I love sunrises as much as sunsets, and I wanted to turn around and watch it happen, for what may be the last time. However, I denied myself that privilege…knowing that it would only make me more sentimental (I love that word) than I already was: I didn't need that.
I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut as I felt the warm rays beginning to strike my fur in a lovingly seductive manner, as if urging me to turn back. It was maddening; I had half a mind to turn around and shout at life to leave me alone.
A tentacle seemed to wrap itself around me: a warm, come-on-home tentacle that urged me to turn back and forget the fight. It told me that my way was bereft of intelligence, too integrate to be considered heroic, and too dumb to be overcome by any means of intelligence; why didn't I go back to Riley's house and forget about the whole thing?
I roared out loud in frustration and resistance to the temptation, and literally ran into the jungle, not stopping before all the warmth had faded from my back and the tentacle had retreated.
I didn't think about anything as I trudged through the leafy underbrush of the jungle. I had remembered the instructions the Predator had given me on how to find his ship, and that was the only thing on my mind. I was hardening myself for what lay ahead; I was telling myself that I was ready for what was coming, even though that might have been the lie of the century.
I might've lost consciousness as I continued walking blindly. I don't know how long I had walked, but after some time, I stopped slowly in my tracks and caught sight of an old friend: my ship. The thing was now barely recognizable, with all the vines, moss and plant life growing all over it. It looked nothing short of an ancient relic.
As if wanting to gather last-second memories, I got up close to my once top-of-the-line vehicle and ran my hand across one of the last plant-free surfaces; even there, the paint was fading and looking gritty. A bit of it flaked off at my touch.

In reaction, a small, green lizard crawled forth from underneath the brush.
We looked at each other for a minute, with our eyes doubtlessly locked.
What was the lizard thinking about? What was on his mind? What were his worries about?
Obviously it was to get back to his home, and he disappeared even fasten than I could see. This was a cue to me to continue on my way, as I should.
I climbed out of the crater and brushed some dust and veggie-grit off of me, and turned around to gaze one final time at my ship. By now, it was hardly recognizable; in another two days, the rainforest will have completely engulfed it. I was confident that nobody would ever find it.
The directions the Pred had given me were true: Exactly two miles from my crash site, I found his ship.
Normally, I would've been impressed: not only had he managed a successful landing in the midst of the dense Hawaiian jungle, but done that with a full-sized S-1 star cruiser. The S-1 is a large, dome-shaped craft with a protruding 'tail' and the cockpit situated at the head of the ship. It landed and flew horizontally, with large, unorthodox engines laying right beneath it; to land in an area as equally abstract wasn't a feat that anybody could accomplish; this guy must've been nothing short of a class-A pilot.
I was impressed, but nonetheless, I had immediately gone into alert-mode. The guns on the ship seemed very stationary and harmless at the moment, but I knew that I was already in the eyes of the enemy. The Pred was nowhere to be seen, but I knew that he was watching me…he probably had been before I even reached this distance.

"Alright, Mr. Predator", I thought to myself.
"Which way do you want it?"

As if to answer, a hatchway that I hadn't even known was there hissed open in front of me. Beyond the metal door frame, I could see nothing but darkness.
This was it. There was no turning back.
I blinked twice, and brushed some dirt off my shoulder. The guns around me reminded me of the ominous stone monster figures that flank a haunted mansion, and I felt a shiver pass down my back like an electrical current. I pulled an Uzi from my belt, clenched my teeth, and entered through the sliding door. Once inside, the door slid closed behind me with a hiss.
For about two seconds, I was left in total darkness, but before my eyes could adapt, the light was switched on above me. On instinct, I gripped my Uzi tighter while pulling out another one out with my other hand and spun around in a three-sixty spin.
I was standing in a small, circular chamber. To my close right, there was another sliding door, but upon trying it, I found out that it was sealed. To the left, an open door led into a tight, lighted hallway. I looked above me, and a series of pipelines ran above a row of fluorescent lights.
Cautiously I began down the aisle, with my guns raised and eyes squinted waringly.
It was surprising cold. Several feet down the hallway, I looked up once more, and found ventilators spitting ice-like thermo-exhaust into the air.

"Is the ship in power?", I thought to myself.
"What's going on?"

To answer myself, I suspected that the Pred was preparing to subdue or kill me and get off the planet ASAP; seemed just like the oversized ass he was.

"Stupid bastard", I thought, and continued down the corridor.

I ended up in another circular chamber, though this one was much larger than the other; it was the fourth of a size of an average cafeteria. The floor below me was a grid work, as was the ceiling, under which a maze of pipes and circuits ran.
A door larger than all the rest lay straight ahead of me, and I presumed that it led to the cockpit. Looking to my left, I found large slide-panel to the left wall looked like it hid a slice of viewing glass; a window plexiglass: stuff that wouldn't shatter in space.

Then, before I could do anything else, a hiss sounded from the door in front of me. I raised my Uzis to the emerging light that came forth as the door opened. I sank into a steadfast position, cocked the triggers of my weapons…and there he was.
The Predator, still wrapped in his cloak, stood in the frame of the door and looked upon me with those horrible sunken eyes of his.

...I could've ended it right there, and saved myself a whole lot of trouble. I was armed, and he wasn't. It would've been too easy, and he knew it; I felt a bit of surprise and possibly even fear in him. He hadn't been expecting me yet, and with this element of surprise, I had actually managed to instill some fearful emotion in him, and my waning killer-instinct yelled at me to shoot.
But I just stood there, weapons raised and aimed at the monster's head, while our eyes decisively locked in a violent stare-down.
After what seemed like hours, the Predator broke the silence.

"So...you came."

I continued showing him ice.

"You thought differently?", I asked quietly.

The Pred shifted his weight slightly and leaned to his side, almost arrogantly. I snarled under my breath and squeezed the grip of my weapons.

"I take it that you want a straight fight", he said simply, and I nodded.

"Yes…if we can both remain civil."

The Pred shook his head, as if he were dealing with an idiot with a death wish which might've been an accurate description for me. I was annoyed, but at the same time, doubt and worry had entered me – I was trying to be as menacing as I could, and here he was showing me arrogant confidence! I must be doing something wrong!

"It will simply be a waste of time and energy", he stated, as if it were a simple fact.
"I would've thought that you had learned from our last encounter."

"Where's Lara?", I demanded, not wanting to be dragged into a grapple of words situated by my enemy.

The Pred lifted his head and asked;
"The girl?"

Wordlessly, he pushed a button on a small control panel in the door frame next to him, and a cyndrical tube across the room slid open. Keeping my gaze half-locked on the Predator, I looked over - it was Lara, motionless behind the tight glass. It seemed as if she was unconscious, and her skin was quite pale...but...

"She's alive", the Pred told me, before I could rage out.
"She's under a hibernation pod; she has been, ever since I took her from the streets. I was going to release her, after I had dealt with you."

I snarled angrily, and growled threateningly at him;
"Oh, we're gonna be having some dealings, alright!"

The Pred nodded;
"Indeed, we will."

I glanced another look at Lara, who looked almost lifeless behind the pane. I was worried: humans aren't physically adept to withstand the stress of artificial hibernation for long - serious damage could be done. I had to get her out of there as soon as I could.

"Are you ready, then?"

I looked back at the Predator, who was now pulling off his cloak, exposing his body for the first time. His physique was remarkably equal to Riley's blind-sketches: he was barrel-chested, packed firmly with muscles, and wore gauntlets, calf guards, and a set of iron boxer shorts.
I looked down at the Uzis in my hand, and felt the swaying of the other guns on my belt. I knew that this was probably the last chance of ending the fight easy. The Predator was unarmed, and I had a nice arrange of firepower.
The Predator cracked his knuckles loudly; it sounded like a taped box being popped open. I reminded myself once more of his physicalities – going hand-to-hand wouldn't be easy. I'd more than likely get the crap beaten out of me, even if I did win…
The guns lay heavily in my hands, and I could hear the Predator breathing. I thought to myself that the last thing I needed was him asking me if all of my confidence rested solely in a firearm, instead of in myself; was the great 541 really so over-dependant on a couple of pistols?

"Hell no", I thought stubbornly, and threw my guns and belt into a far corner; my goddamn pride and manhood would hurt me more than I ever dreamed of.

Now both unarmed, we stood across from each other and surveyed the competition. Traditionally, we began to circle, our eyes still locked like links in a steel chain. I wonder if I had as much fire in my eyes as the Pred had in his.

"Before we start", I said without stopping.
"I have one question."

The Pred's expression did not change; he continued to circle with me, but responded;
"What is it?"

"Just tell me…", I said slowly.
"How you were able to track me? I hit the hyper drive randomly and without a coordinated course. I could've wound up anywhere, as far as anybody is concerned."

The Pred sniffed through his tiny nostrils, and replied simply;
"Latest technology. I could read in which direction your ship was headed when you took off...however, it was pure luck that I found you on this planet."

I smiled grimly.

"And how much is Jumba paying you to bring me back?", I asked.
"Does it depend on whether I'm dead or alive?"

The Pred smiled back, more grimly than I had.

"Your one question is up", he told me.
"Let's finish this."

And with that, we sprang into action, and at eachother.