I am SO sorry for the lateness on this. (get ready for a stream of excuses XD ) My main reason; I am a major Procrastinator. Second reason is I'm currently working on... oh, I'd say seven different projects, andI often switch from one to the other without being able to choose which one I have a need to write in on a given moment. Blech, I hate that.
Long chap though. Hope that makes up for it a bit.
As for the questions somewhere back there in reviews... I'm not sure where this is set. New York is as good a guess as any, I really just made up a random generic city for it
Oh, and DarkXeno; since you seem to be such a diligent and persistant fan, I'll let youcreate a character in my fic Just E-mail me with what your character is and what you want for it, and I'll write 'em in. (I'd prefer a Xenomorph character, but you can choose anything else) Plus, I fixed my dumb spelling error! (feels stupid) Yeah, me the huge fan who'd been mispronouncing the damn species name for almost a year! XD LeastI can spell Xenomorph.
(Insert Disclaimer Here)
Kwei ripped the human's head from its body, glad that the fight was finally over and he could get to better prey. He growled angrily; this human had put up a pitiful fight, so pitiful, in fact, that the Yautja debated on just leaving the creature there and going to find more worthy trophies.
The alien sighed, and clipped the head on his belt. The human's skull was still nearly perfect, and would make a fine addition to his wall, though he would always growl upon seeing it. This human had seemed so daring, so worthy, but it was true that appearances could deceive. It had turned out to be a cowardly creature, one that had ran and begged until the very last.
Kwei startled as he heard the sound of humans coming down the dark alleyway, and cursed at his own inattentiveness. He was halfway to the top of the building when the shout of surprise and horror drifted up to him, and the Yautja decided that the day hadn't been completely wasted. He perched silently on one of the ledges, looking for all the world like a monstrous gargoyle as he stared down through his expressionless mask at the activity below.
He chuckled quietly as the sirens sounded. Things were bound to get interesting.
"What do you want?" growled the scientist, looking up from his calculations. His cold gray eyes swept over the ragged and out of breath individual before him, and he sneered, "What's wrong now, boy? I have work to do!"
"Sir, I'm sorry," breathed the boy, "But you have to come look at this!"
"Look at what? Be quick now, I have important things to do!"
"Something got into the animal pens… we don't know what it is! It's horrible, and it's blood eats through the floor like acid!"
The scientist paused, his outward appearance calm, as he looked the teenager over from head to toe. The boy indeed appeared to be telling the truth, and the scientist's heart leapt at the opportunity that had somehow laid itself out at his feet. He growled; sounding unimpressed at the news.
"You know standard procedure boy! Isolate it!" he ordered sharply, giving the teenager a scathing look, "Well, hop to it! And it'd better be kept alive, do you hear!"
"Yes, Dr. Conner!"
The boy nodded quickly and sprinted out the door. The scientist snorted and called after him.
"It had better be alive!"
"The doctor wants it isolated!" called the teenager, leaning on a chair as he reached his coworker, a burly man of around forty. The man snorted and pulled away from the gigantic hole in the floor, tearing his eyes away from the carnage below.
"What does that idiot scientist think he's doing?" he growled, "The damn thing's eatin' up our profits like a fuckin' vacuum!"
"We can't kill it, either," said the boy with a shrug, leaning down to pick up something on the ground. He turned the object over and over in his hands, finally flipping it open to read the cover, "Looks like someone dropped their book," he mused.
"Huh? Toss it 'ere," said the burly man, gesturing, "per'aps I can find who it belongs to."
"Yeah, you know everyone that works here, don't you?" laughed the teenager, tossing the book. The object flew through the air, and brushed the burly man's fingers before dropping straight into the pit, "Gods damn it all!"
"You idiot! Look what you've done!" yelled the man, annoyed, "We'll never get it back now!"
"Didn't matter, it was old, anyway," said the boy with a shrug, "It was so torn up I doubt anyone would want it back. Besides, it was Poe. Can't understand a damn word that man ever wrote."
"If anyone comes lookin' for it, I'm pointing them straight to you," snorted the man, winking good-naturedly.
"Oh, and I'll tell them who dropped it," said the teenager with a smile, "C'mon, let's get a net over this hole…"
"Damn teenagers."
I looked up as an object fell through the hole I had fallen through, landing directly in front of my face. I distantly heard the humans above yelling, and snarled softly before sending a few gentle sound waves over the thing. With a snort, I discovered that it was the book I had picked up earlier. I must have dropped it while running, and the humans had discovered it. I could only guess as to whether the fact that it had arrived in this feasting pit had anything to do with them knowing it belonged to me or not.
I wrapped one clawed hand around it, bringing it to me as if it were some treasured artifact. In truth, to me it was.
"Besides, it was Poe. Can't understand a damn word that man ever wrote," laughed one of the humans. I looked up, seeing them clearly for the first time. I was surprised at how much they looked like my old family… but then again, all humans looked about the same to me. I couldn't help it, though; I clicked happily and leapt towards the hole.
The humans yelped, throwing down a net over the opening. I hit it and fell back, looking up plaintively at them. One shuddered and turned away.
"It doesn't have eyes!" he growled, "It's an abomination!"
Abomination! Was that what I was? A freak?
I looked down at myself, a thoughtful mood taking me. Was I just some animal to them, as the cat was? Yes, they had loved the cat as a family member, but they considered cats graceful and beautiful. To them, I was an ugly, disgusting creature. For the first time, I saw what I was through human's eyes.
I was a monster.
I was expendable.
With a cry, I leapt at the net again, an irrational anger pulsing through me that they would think so little of me. That they would insult and hurt when they didn't know me, they didn't know who I was, what I was. All they saw was the outside, the monster.
One slash broke the ropes easily, and I clung to the ceiling as the human's frightened screamed echoed above me. They were loud, very loud, and I winced as I scuttled through the hole. The book in my hand comforted me only slightly as I screeched at them, trying in vain to form a sound they would understand.
"SCREEE SCREEETEEEEEEE SCRRAAAAAA!"
"Get out of the way!" called the larger male as I faced the smaller, tail lashing in my annoyance. Suddenly, I realized how dangerous a weapon my tail actually was.
"SCREEE SCRRRRAAAM EEEEEEE JEEEEEEEE BEEEEEEE SSSSSSSST!"
Was I just a beast? Was I, human?
"Kill it! I don't care what the doctor says, KILL THE DAMN MONSTER!"
I was a monster.
I screamed, my anger sharpening into a bright, burning point within me as I focused all my attention on the human. He screamed again in terror, the sound delicious in my ears. It gave me such a clear image of him, of his face. They thought me a monster…
Perhaps I shouldn't disappoint them?
All the rage, the pain of the last few moments took over, and I shrieked a high-pitched cry. It felt as if my head had exploded, all the matter inside spreading out to engulf the room, absorbing every detail and storing it. The human shone bright white, and I growled at him.
He didn't even have time to cry before he was lifted into the air and slammed against the wall opposite the room. I leapt, my legs stiff as I hit the already dead human in the chest, ripping out his internal organs and feasting on them. I growled, the blood cascading down my maw as I swallowed his heart, and caught sight of the other human. He was pointing another of the long objects at me, but it wouldn't make the loud sound. I growled again, annoyed.
Are you happy now? Is this what your kind wanted of me, human? You called me a monster, and now I am!
He clutched his head, sinking to the floor, and I snorted. Weak, pathetic humans. Why did they even attempt anything? They're hate corrupted them, their blindness. I may not have been able to see as they did, I may not have had eyes, but my sight was clearer than anything they had. I saw what they were; I saw their soul.
I didn't like what I saw.
"What are you?" the human gasped, blood beginning to flow from his nostrils to drip on the sterilized floor.
What do you see, human? Give it a name, and that's what I am.
"Freak," spat the man, "Evil bastard!"
Perhaps I am… Perhaps I am…
The sirens started up again, sounding more frantic than usual. Kwei looked up from his vigil, his keen ears distinguishing the hurried calls of the humans and the slamming of doors. He stood, ignoring the infuriating pigeons that were everywhere in the city, and headed off towards the sound. He adjusted his mask slightly, taking it from the motion sensing and setting back to the thermal detection that he was used to. Perhaps there would be some worthy prey in that direction…
I looked up, my keen senses hearing the faint yet unmistakable sound of sirens. I knew this only from the various television shows my host had watched, but from what I gathered, sirens weren't a good thing. They brought more humans –dangerous humans- and were extremely loud at close quarters.
This was my cue to leave.
I looked at the dead humans, a cold feeling settling in my gut. I had killed humans… I had betrayed my family. My family who had, in essence, raised me. They had taught me so much of the world, and I had gone directly against what I had learned.
I had no honor.
I keened over the two dead, aware of the eyes of another as I mourned them. As I heard a sound behind me, I whipped around, staring the creature in his cold eyes.
"You're beautiful," he whispered, awed, "A perfect being…"
I stopped, confused. Wasn't I a monster?
"You're no monster," said the human. I stared at him in shock, and he smiled back, "You have such talent's, little beauty. A Queen in her own right you've become. But more powerful than any Queen I've seen…"
A Queen? What was he talking about? I was nothing, a beast… a parasite. And how in all the worlds could he understand me? I wasn't even speaking… not that I could.
"I'll teach you," said the human, "I'll teach you what I'm talking about, my girl. You're far too valuable to be wasted like some animal, some mangy cur! You are…You are a flawless creature. Perfectly adapted to any number of environments…."
A specimen! The knowledge hit me suddenly, and somehow I knew the definition and implications without ever having heard the word before. I snarled, seeing the human take a wary step back. His eyes watched my every movement.
"Now, girl," he said calmly, "There's no need to get agitated."
I'd rather be thought a monster than lose my freedom.
A sudden movement caught my eye, and I jumped back as another human slammed the door open, firing wildly with the long, metallic object. I hissed as another bullet hit me, grazing my arm. My acidic blood splattered across the floor, smoking as it burned through the metal.
"Don't shoot, you idiots!" yelled the human, "Don't you realize how valuable that creature is?"
Valuable? So I was merely a profit for him? An early payday for the noble human dream?
Well, I certainly wasn't sticking around, now.
With an angry hiss, I made my way across the floor, ducking as a few of the humans fired despite the ravings of the strange human. Suddenly, one gurgled, falling on the ground. I stopped, surprised, and saw a large spear materialize through his stomach. It was almost as if it had been invisible before….
Another human screamed, lifting up into the air as two points of blood flew from the back of his chest. I winced, the noise so shrill that it cut through my sight with an image of the reflected terror that the human felt as he died.
What was killing them? Why wasn't I able to see it?
The questions burned through me as I crouched, hidden under a large metal box. The human I had spoken with yelped, staggering back as the mysterious force killed yet another of the uniformed ones. The screaming was so loud that there was never a moment that I couldn't see what was happening in the room, and what I saw frightened me.
The coated human flipped some sort of switch, a suddenly water began raining down in the room. I winced, hearing the confusing roar as every droplet created its own individual soundwave. Somehow, though, the water allowed me to see the creature that was killing the humans with so much relish. I growled as I studied it.
Somehow, my instincts were instantly set on guard. This creature was dangerous, and something that I was automatically tuned to attack. I held myself back with pure force of will, waiting to see what the creature would do.
It turned, growling and clicking ominously as the human staggered away from the switch. The twin blades on its wrists made a hissing noise as they extended to a full three feet, dripping the blood of previous victims. The human whimpered and ran, trying to get to the door.
He didn't make it.
He screamed as the blades plunged into his flesh, but the human was not without a last valiant struggle. As he died, he ripped out wires from a nearby door lock, shoving the sparking wires into the creature's chest. Both screamed as electricity coursed through them, and the creature removed the blades from the human's chest almost instantly as it pulled away. The human seemed to have a death grip, though, and refused to let go of the creature or the wires, keeping the current alive for as long as possible.
Finally, the creature managed to get the human off, staggering back as it was suddenly released from the electricity. It shook itself, turning away to face the other victims. I hissed softly, amazed at how it could have taken such a hit. I knew how lethal the energy that had been unleashed was; my senses told me that I would have died after only a few seconds of exposure.
Suddenly, it staggered, falling to one knee. The creature tried to rise, but twitched slightly and fell to the floor. It twitched once more, and went still.
I came out of hiding warily, quite aware of the complete silence all around me. I thrummed, keeping up a steady sound so that I wouldn't be caught off guard, and approached the large, humanoid creature. I stayed away from the weapons, both human and creature, and carefully made my way through the carnage. I transferred my book to one of my smaller claws, feeling slightly foolish for not thinking of doing such before, and stepped over a large puddle of watered down blood.
Finally, I reached it. I leaned down carefully, sniffing. The creature was alive, but barely, and I could hear the sirens start up again. I looked around, warring with myself on the decision. These humans I owed nothing; they had tried repeatedly to kill me or worse, and I had no love for them. But this creature was different, like I was, and despite the fact that I knew it would probably try to kill me when it woke, I felt that it had saved me. If it had not killed the humans when it had, I might have been dead. I owed it a safe place to recover, at least.
Decision made, I knelt and tried to get the creature to lie on my back. The work was difficult without hands, but somehow I managed it… halfway. The creature's legs still fell to one side, but it was the best I could do. Unfortunately, I realized that my charge was quite heavy, as well, and I had to work to move under its weight. But I had decided, and I wasn't going to give up before I had begun.
Hmm… what are you? I mused as I chirped softly, looking over every line of the strange mask covering the creature's face. It doesn't matter. You saved me, and I save you. Then, we're even.
If I had known then what I know now about the species, I might have killed it then and there.
Like I said; I was different.
'Nother edited chapter (yawn) I think every chapter I have has been edited, now O.o