Here's the second chapter. The first one was just a set-up and so is this one. Lot of dialogue and almost no action. But I'll kick up the action in the next post. One thing I forgot to tell in the first chapter - I've only seen movies about Predators and Aliens (although all seven). I've never read any novels or comics, so everything I'm writing here is based on my theories and wishful thinking. Please, bear that in mind when you find any mistakes or inconsistencies.

MadPuppy : My mother language is Slovak. It comes from Slavonian language branch, just like Russian, though it's a quite different. And I'm glad you like my idea about Scar/Lex C2 community.

Many thanks to my bro who helped me with his game based knowledge of Predators' weaponry. And also thanks for your reviews.

Disc.: I still own nothing. Wait, I own Blade and the plot. But the rest isn't mine. Such a pity.

The pyramid was silent as Alexa Woods led her team deeper into its insides. A beam from her flashlight travelled aross the walls and every so often she checked her compass to make sure they were moving in the right direction. The pyramid was like a gigantic maze. Whoever had built it had made a good job of it. Lex heard Sebastian's excited murmur about the hieroglyphs they were passing along which was mixed with Miller's chattering about an impossibility of the pyramid being so old. She more felt than heard Weyland fighting for his breath, his destroyed lungs desperately trying to pump some oxygen into his body. The long strides of Max Stafford and two hired mercenaries Verheiden and Connors echoed soundly throughout the empty corridor. Lex knew they were armed but for some unknown reason the fact made her nervous. She couldn't shake off a feeling that something was terribly wrong, though she didn't have the slightest idea what. It was just a gut instinct but she had learned to trust it a long time ago. Without it, she would have been long dead, killed on some mountain where the tiniest mistake could have meant the end.

And there were those frescos, depicting a fight between a tall humanoid warrior and some kind of ... demon, as she called it for a lack of better word. The two beings were locked in a deadly combat and Lex suspected that the fight could have had only one winner. She remembered the translation Sebastian and Thomas had made in the sacrificial chamber.

'They gave their lives ... So that the hunt might begin.'

What type of hunt might have gone on in this ancient building? She looked at the fresco where the humanoid figure had the demon impaled on some kind of spear. Maybe the human looking ones had hunted the others? But why the sacrifices then?

She was brought out of her thoughts when their group stopped in the front of a door. Lex consulted her compass and then turned to the others.

"The room behind this door should be the one under the chamber."

She pushed open the door, noticing the layer of dust on it. They were greeted by the sight of the flares they had dropped in earlier and knew that, indeed, they were in the right place. This room was only sparsely decorated and the most interesting object inside was a massive sarcophagus. Weyland motioned for Max and Verheiden to move the lid aside and open it. However, the lid didn't move an inch, though they pushed with all their might. Sebastian came closer and swept his flashlight beam along the surface, noticing the hieroglyphs carved into its surface.

"Step aside. It's time for brains to replace brawn."

Verheiden glared at him but did as he was told. Sebastian leaned over the lid, brushing away the dust that covered it. There were three metal dials on it.

"What is it?" Lex asked.

"Some kind of combination lock," he answered in deep thought. "This is the Long Count," he said, studying the pictograms and hieroglyphs. "The calendar. Days, months, years. This must be the combination," he looked again on the dials. "Days ... months ... years ..."

"But what date?" Lex wanted to know, feeling it was important. Sebastian hasitated, doing translation in his head and then said.

"1904. Exactly one hundred years ago."

"Someone opened this a hundred years ago?" Lex asked, not believing what he said. A memory flashed through her head. About how she told Sebastian and Miller about the mystery of Bouvetoya whaling station. How everyone had disappeared ...in 1904. One hundred years ago. When the sarcophagus had been opened last time. Could there have been a connection? She hoped from her heart that not, because the implications of it, if it turned out the truth, were just too damn terrible to think about.

"Only one way to find out. What's today's date?" Sebastian turned to the sarcophagus.

"October 10th," Lex replied. Sebastian turned the dials.

"10 ... 10 ... 2004," he murmured.

"You sure this is going to work?" Weyland asked the archaelogist.

"I don't know," he admitted as he positioned the dials into their places. When they did, something clicked and the sarcophagus started to open on its own. Everyone waited until the movement stopped and then it was Sebastian who peered into its dark interior.

"Take a look at this."

They gathered to gaze onto some kind of guns. There was no way the objects inside could have been anything else, although the design was absolutely unknown. Sebastian whispered.

"The master culture."

The three hunters stood at the bottom of the tunnel, looking towards the pyramid which towered in its majesty high above them. All three of them had mixed feelings about entering it, knowing what waited inside. Hunt and excitement. Pain and death. It defined who they were. They had been preparing for this occasion for a long time. None of them would step back even if they could. The Hunt like this was once in a lifetime and it was an honour they had been chosen to perform it.

Scar glanced on his companions. Both of them looked calm and composed, ready to fight. Scar let his gaze linger on Blade whose height seemed to be a handicap in comparison to Scar and Celtic's impressive built, though Scar knew that what Blade missed in the growth and visible muscles was compensated in the speed, reflexes and close-combat ability. However, one thing worried him. Blade was too eager to kill, too eager to just slash with its wrist blades and bringing death to anything and anyone. Scar made a mental note to look after his younger sibling. Its difference didn't matter to him 'cause he knew what Blade was capable of and that you would harder find more formidable opponent. But maybe, maybe a little precaution was in place.

With his mind set, Scar started towards the pyramid with the other two behind him. They walked quickly and purposefully, approaching the greatest challenge in their lives. They didn't hurry. Their instructions said they were to retrieve the shoulder cannons and after they did so, the pyramid would close, changing into a battleground. They knew about the humans who had entered the pyramid to become the hosts for the first stage of Xenomorphs' living cycle but they were of a little consequence to them. Most of humans were weak beings, too easy to kill, as had proved their encounter on the surface. Although, as Scar had said to Blade, there were exceptions. Scar once again glanced on the shorter Warrior. Yes, exceptions indeed.

They neared the stairs leading to the pyramid when Scar's wrist computer beeped. He quickly flipped it on and immediately saw a changed signal from the pyramid. He exchanged worried looks with his companions. The humans must have found the weapons.

"Run!" he yelled and broke into a sprint. Celtic and Blade followed suit, bounding up the stairs and into the pyramid just as the entrance started to close with a heavy slab of stone.

"Stupid humans!" Blade muttered as they managed to enter the pyramid right before it closed and cut them from the outside world. "What do we do now?"

"Find the humans, take them our weapons and kill the prey," Scar replied. "This is just a minor inconvenience. We cannot be stopped."

They couldn't see each other's expression under the masks but Scar guessed there was a predatory smile ( A/N: Sorry, couldn't resist :) ) on Blade's face when their vision was switched to infrared.

"You're right. We'll get them all," and the wrist blades, still covered in blood, slid out of their sheats into ready position.

Everyone stared down at the weapons laying in the sarcophagus. Miller was the first one to break the silence.

"Any idea what those are?"

"Nope. You?" Sebastian turned to chemical engineer.

"No."

"Good thing we brought in the experts," Max said sarcastically. Miller turned to him in anger.

"Hey. We just found the equivalent of a DVD player in Moses' living room. Why don't you give us a second to figure it out?"

"Well to me, it looks like sophisticated weaponry."

Lex left them to argue to look at Weyland who was taking his oxygen from the bottle. She absent-mindedly replied to Sebastian's question about him, dismissing Weyland's breathing difficulties as an asthma. She knew Weyland didn't want to look weak in front of the others. He reminded her of her father in this. He, too, had never showed any weakness and had taught her to do the same. In the meantime, Miller was examining the weapons and found out the surprising results.

"There are two chemicals here. Tilanium and Cadmium 240," he announced.

"Never heard of them," Sebastian commented.

"They're found in meteorites," Miller explained.

"Meteorites?"

"Whatever these are, they weren't made here," Miller continued but Sebastian interrupted him.

"When you say here, you mean...?"

"Earth."

Everyone but Lex was stunned by this. She concentrated on Weyland who looked worse and worse with every passing moment. It wasn't good for him to dwell so long in here. And besides, her nervousness had increased at least tenfold since they had discovered the weapons. She came to a decision and turned to the group.

"We've been out long enough for today. We're going to set up base camp tonight at the whaling station and we'll get back at it first thing tomorrow morning."

"You can go back to base camp Ms. Woods. We're going to stay here," Max told her but Lex wasn't about to have any of this bullshit. She came closer to him and spoke in her best leader's voice.

"You wanted to leave without proper prep and we did. You wanted to be the first here, we are. You've claimed the find. It's yours. Now we move as a team and we're done for today," she wasn't very tall but she was determined to pass her point. Her chin stubbornly raised, hands planted on her hips and a fierce look in her eyes made Max look over to Weyland who nodded his consent.

"You heard her."

They started to leave when Max asked.

"What should we do about the guns, Mr. Weyland?"

"Take them. We can run further tests on the surface."

Both Connors and Max reached inside just as Sebastian and Lex called out not to touch them. Too late. As soon as the last weapon was out of the sarcophagus something clicked and the room started to change. The walls moved, closing off the way they had come from and opening a new one. Shouts echoed throughout the chamber to be joined with the others from the chamber above them.

The scientists left in the sacrificial chamber to collect samples gazed at the shattered remains of one of the metal cases they tried to use to stop the descent of heavy stones which had cut them off from the rest of the pyramid. They tried to push one aside but it was a vain attempt. They could have as well tried to move with the pyramid itself. They gave up and then a sound from the stone slab made them to turn around. In the bowl-shaped place, where they had thought a heart of the victim had been placed, arose a strange egg-like object. All people in the room stared fascinately as six others joined the first one. And then, like some bizarre flower, the eggs started to open.

"What did you say this room was called?" Rousseau asked as she raised her Colt.45 and switched off safety.

"The Sacrificial Chamber," Thomas swallowed hard, obviously scared. And then it happened. A spider-like creature with a long tail launched itself from each egg and leaped towards humans. Rousseau aimed and pulled the trigger. One shot ... two ... three... All of them missed. The creature was too fast and it landed on her face. She staggered, trying to pull it away, clawing at it with her hands, screaming for help. The only response were similar screams echoing around her, telling her she wasn't the only one fighting the creature.

Its tail slowly winded around her neck, tightening her throat. She gasped for breath and fell something slid inside her mouth. She gagged and tried very hard to stop its advance. She managed to grab the creature's leg and pulled at it. It screeched, not liking it in least. She pulled stronger, adrenaline and fear giving her needed strength. She tore away one of its legs. A liquid splashed from the wound, hitting her hand. It hurt like hell and immediately started to eat away on her flesh. Adele cried out in pain and let go of the creature. It resumed its attack and Adele had no strength left to fight. The tube found its way into her throat and laid down the embryo of Xenomorph, making the woman unconscious in the process.

The room now was silent in stark contrast to what had been happening there only seconds before. All six people laid unconscious on the cold floor, facehuggers on their faces as some kind of ritual masks. And in their insides, the demons started to grow.

TBC

So, what do you think? Leave me a review, please. Bad or good, I want both. Look forward to lots of blood and gore in the next chapter which should be up in less than a week as well. Oh, and Lex and Scar will finally meet and the secret of Blade will be revealed as well ( maybe : P ). Until then...

P.S.: I was watching Pitch Black recently again and there was this quote : "All you people are so scared of me. Most days I'd take that as a compliment, but it ain't me ya gotta worry about." Richard. B. Riddick, escaped convict, murderer

See ya!