Chapter 8: The Big Finish
Hooks stood in front of seven other clans, their leaders watching his every move. The predator was a little nervous, but the furious desire to claim Scarlet's head burned in him so much that his fear was forgotten.
"My fellow Yajuta," Hooks began his speech, "For countless years we have hunted many creatures in the name of honor. One species has always provided us the greatest hunt: the xenomorphs. I have been to the planet of doom, where the red xenomorph queen reigns supreme. And I know of her brood, I know of their power. Her hive would supply us with the greatest hunt. I, who has killed three Gro'teks singlehandedly, I, who has captured 99 xenomorph queen skulls, now stand before you with a hunt of unimagined honor. On the planet of the red queen, there are monsters beyond your imagination. Creatures with huge blades for hands, xenomorphs that fly, and even Gro'tek aliens. Can we deny ourselves the honor of hunting this ultimate game?
"I asked you here, my honorable comrads, to join me in the ultimate hunt. A hunt where even those who die in battle shall die with honor. Join me in conquest and honor."
The clans unanimously agreed to join in the hunt.
Seven huge predator spaceships hovered over Scarlet's planet. They shot pod after pod after pod of predators onto the planet until there was a virtual army of them: fifty predators from each clan.
Hooks led the assault, covered in his new armor made from Gro'Tek skin. The skin was flexible, acid-proof and resistant to damage from weapons like claws and teeth. His hooks were the only part of his old armor that he had kept.
The predator army sent seven young predators into the hive to lure out the aliens. The youths entered the hive full of confidence, but just ten minutes later five of them were running out of the hive to the rest of their clans. The other two didn't make it out.
The army stood outside the hive, waiting. A scurrying sound was coming out of the hole, getting louder by the second. The sound kept growing and growing. The predators walked closer to the hive...
Hundreds of xenomorphs flooded out of the hive. They attacked the predators, spitting acid at them until they got close enough to use their claws and teeth. The clans chopped their way through this first wave, all the while thinking that Hooks had duped them. These weren't the strong monsters of legend; they were simple drones and warrior aliens, nothing new or special.
This mind-set was quickly proved false when the first ravager came out of the hive. The monster hacked his way through seventeen predators before he was taken down. Ten more came out of the hive, followed by the Gro'tek alien. The clans struggled against them.
The five remaining young predators were getting the hang of things. They hacked through the warriors and drones, laughing as they easily defeated the monsters. The largest (and most cocky) youth was suddenly confronted by a strange xenomorph: it looked like a warrior but it had two pair of arms. Suddenly two pairs of wings appeared from its back and it grabbed the juvenile predator, flying into the air with its prey. The Juvenile tried to kill it, but the xenomorph had him in his clutches. Eventually he was stabbed by the monster's stinger-tipped tail, and it was over.
The flying xenomorph carried the predator into the hive, laying him down next to an egg. Scarlet watched as the new host was facehugged, Greenslash standing at her side. She asked the dragalien how the fight was going. He replied by saying that they needed more xenomorphs. Scarlet nodded and ordered two of the ravagers to guard her praetorian daughters. She led Greenslash and the other ravagers into battle.
Meanwhile, a drone had finally reached the xenomorphs that were lying in wait in Masich's ship. He told them that the queen had ordered them to attack. The xenomorph bonus army smiled. Each one of them headed for the windows and doors of the ship, jumping out to join the fray.
Hooks stood over a pile of xenomorph skulls, waiting for the queen to come out. The other clans knew that only he was allowed to kill the queen, and they respected his order. He slayed each xenomorph that came near him with relative ease; he was the one that had killed the first ravager.
Finally he saw her. Hooks jumped on one of the pred-guns, a huge flying craft used by predators when fighting large opponents, and headed for Scarlet. Two huge mechanical arms came out of the gun and plucked Scarlet from the ground. He flew away from the conflict with his captured prey. The xenomorphs tried to follow, but the predators kept them from leaving. Greenslash wondered if his queen would be all right.
They landed somewhere in the forest, away from the conflict. Scarlet snarled at Hooks, remembering his smell. She wondered why he, her ally in the past, had now betrayed her. The predator jumped off his pred-gun and walked over towards Scarlet.
The fight of the legends began.
The battle was over. Of the 350 predators that had landed on the planet, only sixteen returned. The battle devastated the area around the hive, destroying over 400 miles of forest. The large battle eventually broke up into several smaller battles, dividing the xenomorphs and predators from the rest of their armies.
Greenslash was waiting with the 237 new predaliens in the hive to see what other members had survived. The Gro'tek alien was the first to return, followed by only half of the original predaliens (all of which were now much, much stronger). Fifty-seven warrior and drone aliens returned to the hive, most of which were nearly dead. The dragalien, which had lost one leg and all of its wings, followed. The two mastiff aliens tat had once been pit bulls came after that, along with seven ravagers.
In truth, Greenslash could care less about them. He only wanted to see his queen. After a couple hours passed without sight of any other survivors the ravager gave up hope.
He was about to reach the egg chamber when he heard a faint moaning sound. He turned around, smelling a familiar scent entering the hive. Greenslash ran towards the entrance and was greeted by a battle-damaged Scarlet.
The queen's left leg didn't have a foot. Her tiny pair of secondary arms had bee torn off, and three of her back-spikes had been damaged. One of her hands had lost all but two fingers, and blood was dripping from her mouth. Her crown was bleeding and damaged in many areas, but her red crest remained as radiant and beautiful as ever.
Scarlet limped into the hive before collapsing in a heap on the ground. Greenslash picked her up and carried her back into throne room. Scarlet cooed at her blue night, falling asleep in his mantis-like arms. Her wounds would heal, the hive would be rebuilt, and soon everything would be back to normal.
Exactly how the battle turned out was unknown. Hooks was presumed dead by his clan, but his legend lived on. The aliens of the planet were also honored by predator legend. From that day on no predator would hunt Scarlet's brood, for they had proven to be as fierce and honorable in combat as the predators themselves.
Centuries later a human expedition was made to the planet. They found, amongst other things, a strange grave. A dead predator covered in rotting armor and with two hooks on each arm was buried in a pit that had been made by acid. Buried with him were two queen xenomorph arms. They also discovered Scarlet's hive, which had been abandoned. Masich's ship had also disappeared, and in its place were burn marks that were very similar to those found on space shuttle take off sites. The mysteries of what happened to Scarlet's brood and the strange predator grave were never solved.
The End