Heeeey!

Butterflydragon: Great to see ya back and reviewing! Hehe, glad you like!
TGBBF: Yup, sarcasm is my speciality XD Here tis the next chappy for 'oo

Ranma Hibiki: Lay off the strange foods, man o.O Although entertaining, I found myself going cross-eyes when I tried to read your review XD Though I surprisingly could undertsand it perfectly XD

Bsdiaster: Ah, you took classes for stuff like that? Awesome! Melodramtic stuff is always funny when sarcasm is involved!
DarkXeno: XD Hehehehehehehe.

Raptorchick: Okay, okay, first thing, I don't think anyone knows what Chopper's real name is. I just made that one up as a variation of dai-shui, a different word I got off a site.
No, I haven't read any Jhonen Vasquez stuff, but I have been valiantly attempting to get the first season of Invader Zim becuase I am seriously rabid for want of watching it. Gah, having to wait one more week makes me angry... Bllllarrrrrg!

Okay, chapter now...


I stood before the elder, head lowered slightly to show my respect and submission to the powerful entity. He rumbled slightly as I kneeled before him formally, and then rose when he gave a small bark of command. Now, I supposedly was allowed to speak to him… if I remembered Yautja protocol correctly, that is.

"What do you wish of me, respected elder?" I asked in formal Yautja, only having some difficulty with the slightly different variation of the language.

"Jes'ca, tell them what they need to hear," he said mysteriously. I cursed under my breath in my own language and turned to face the others, the comforting presence of Chopper standing just a few feet to my left and Lex smiling encouragement at me from the wall to my right. I took a deep, claming breath, trying to sort out the words in my mind.

I had never been good at public speaking…

"Yautja," I began. So far so good… I think, "I have worked had this past month to show my worth to you and others of your race, to show that I belonged here. When I had first come upon the trial under the ice, I had been afraid, elated, untried… I prevailed somehow, along with members of your race and one of my own. I wish only to know why you refuse to accept me, as you have accepted those of your own race without trouble. What is so different about us that makes you so unwilling to think of us as hunters?"

Hey, that was pretty good. Thank the gods for my philosophical writing skills; otherwise I would have botched it so bad…

"It is because you are weak ooman prey!" snarled another individual, "You can never be as good as us, and you think to make yourself Yautja!"

That last sentence was practically spat out, as if it were disgusting to contemplate. I bristled and decided right then and there that these 'warriors' didn't really deserve my respect after all.

"I never wanted to be Yautja!" I barked out angrily, feeling my eyes turn to that intense look of fury that even I was afraid of, "Sure, I love your way of life, but that's just asking too much. All I ever wanted as to be a warrior, and now you refuse me even that? Hell, I'd fight the Xeno's again if I could!"

Instant silence came over the room. Not even the occasional grumbles of small side conversations could be heard in the hush. I looked around confusedly.

What'd I say?

"Would you, Jes'ca?" the elder asked softly. I turned to look at him, and suddenly I realized that every time I had ever mentioned the Xeno's, those on the ship would go strangely quiet, as if there was a secret that I didn't need to know. A secret…

"You have some here, don't you?" I breathed, amazed and a bit disgruntled. So that was what they had been hiding? The elder nodded slowly as I looked back at him

Well, this would turn out to be an interesting evening, after all…

"How many?" I asked.

"Three," it was Chopper who answered me this time, "Two drones and a Praetorian."

I hesitated only slightly; the thought of facing those nightmare creatures once again sent shivers down my spine, but I wasn't exactly afraid. I wanted to hurt something right now, and what better to displace my anger on than one of those challenging creatures? If fighting them would help me prove myself to these undeserving assholes in the process, why not?

"Send one in," I said casually, "I'll take it on."

There was a ripple of Yautja laughter across the 'audience'. I glared at them indignantly; what were they thinking, laughing at me?

"Elder," one called, "You cannot seriously consider allowing these weak oomans a battle with the Hard Meat on board? It would be pointless slaughter!"

On whose side? I couldn't help but wonder, mine or the Xeno's?

"If they wish to battle, then they may," said the elder with a stern glare in the direction of the dissonant party, "It is their choice."

They?

"Wait just a second!" I interrupted, "I never said Lex was going to fight, too!"

"Don't worry, Jess," she called in our own language, stepping out from the protective presence of Scar and Celtic, "I'm behind you on this. I just hope they let us have our weapons…"

I nodded and turned my attention back to the elder, who had begun speaking.

"This conflict is about the both of you, and you must both fight on this battle if you both wish to be accepted," he told me sternly, "You may go prepare in your quarters. Bring what you think you'll need, and no more."

"Gotcha," I said, turning away to face Lex, who had come up to stand beside me. I gave the woman a cheeky wink, "Hey Lex, what do you say we make things a little more interesting while we're at it?"

"How?" she asked, curious as we began to walk towards the door, all too aware of the dozen or more pairs of eyes watching out exit.

"You're pretty confident in you're training, right?"

"Yes…" she didn't follow, I could tell.

"How many drones do you think you could take on, seriously?"

Suddenly, she grinned, getting my point. Alone, perhaps, we could only take on one at a time, but fighting together…

"Tell them."

I smirked and looked back, flicking my hand in that strange wave I had to get the Yautja's attention. As soon as the elder looked up, I called out to them.

"You know what?" I said, "Forget bringing just one, we wanna fight 'em all!"

I turned back before they could address me, snickering as Lex pushed the button to close the door behind us as we trotted through the hall towards our room. I couldn't ignore the adrenaline pumping through me as I thought about the battle ahead. Man, I hoped I was strong enough, because this was going to be tougher than anything I'd ever done before.

Well, tougher than everything except maybe the Queen battle. I don't even think dying would be any tougher than that.

"This is insane," Lex commented as she walked beside me, "I can't believe we actually just did that! Do you have any idea how difficult this battle is going to be?"

"Difficult enough to ensure that no one disrespects us ever again," I muttered, looking around at the walls with a blank sigh. Why was it always so hard for me to find doors on this ship? I mean, Lex could manage it so easy, and I usually prided myself on how well I could find irregularities in patterns and such, but I guess having seven seasons of ice climbing behind her helped the woman with her perception ability.

I almost ran into Lex as she stopped at our door, pushing the button and slipping inside. I walked in with a long sigh, punching the panel on the opposite side to close the door as I looked around at the room. It was large, much larger than my old room had been, with a bed in each corner of the room. The funny things about the beds were that they were built for creatures commonly two feet taller than us, so were absolutely huge. The type of beds a kid who liked to jump dreamed of.

Beside each bed was a single tall 'drawer' built into the wall, containing every meager item we owned. Mine held my coat and human cloths, my armor, a few little things I had found around the ship, and the large pit of a Naxa fruit that I had thought looked a bit like a creature. At night I also put my Xeno claw necklace into it, as well, but that was all. I had little idea what Lex had put into hers, and didn't feel like invading her privacy by asking.

Of course, the trophy wall took up pretty much the whole of the remaining clear wall, though it was currently painfully empty. If Lex and I were able to pull off the battle coming up, we would have yet another thing to be proud of, too. A few nice skulls would be great to put up on that wall, especially if they were the ones that gained us respect enough to live here comfortably.

The weapons we owned were put on the wall beside the trophy case, and I pulled out my spear, the one that had been given to me by none other than Chopper on my first adventure, and pressed the button on the side that caused it to extend to its full length. The sound it made while doing this was one that I loved, and I smiled as I inspected it for damage or dull points. There was none, for I kept very good care of my most prized weapon, and I sent it back into compact form. Lex was tending to her own spear, finishing the sharpening and waxing job with quick ease before working on her newest weapon, a short yet ornate dagger that had been given to her by Scar after she had recovered from her badly lost battle with a renegade warrior. The older woman had learned much from that battle, and it reflected strongly in her strategic approach to any training fight and her incredible ability to predict an opponents moves.

Yeah, I was glad she would be fighting with me. I knew that without her, I would never be able to survive fighting three Xeno's at a time, especially not after just recently training. I was only human, after all.

'Only human', my mind spat at me, that's just what they want you to think!

I made my way over to my drawer, opening it and bringing out a few pieces of armor that were used for real battles instead of casual training or skirmishes. With distracted movements I clipped them on the armor I already wore, considering what was about to happen. Almost longingly I looked at the wrist computer in the back of the drawer, but refrained myself from adding it to my attire. I refused to use the wristblades of the Yautja in this battle. They wanted to see what a human could do? Well, I would show them how I had fought before, when I had been the untrained teenager from reality thrust into a situation far out of her control.

"You ready?" Lex asked from the door, already in her own complete armor. I looked up at her, and noticed that she had chosen not to use the wrist computer, either. In fact, we were both using as little as we could, as between us we had exactly three weapons… well, four if anyone counted my nails, but it wasn't as if I could use them against the corrosive blood of the Xeno's.

"As ready as I'm ever gonna be," I replied, sighing before I gathered myself together and looked up with a crooked smile, "So let's get going!"

She smirked and opened the door, and I followed her as she traveled through the empty hall, feet passing through the fading yellow mist and sandals making hollow clicking sounds against the floor. For once, I was paying attention as I walked, and I didn't miss the door to the training room. With some trepidation, Lex punched the button, and we both went through, spears held loosely at our sides.

The others were waiting in much the same places as they had been earlier, except that Chopper had gone to join the other two of our friends and the elder was having a discussion with one of the larger warriors. At the sound of our entrance they all looked up, seeming a bit surprised by our sparse weaponry and confident appearance. There were no others in the room, and certainly no Xeno's were there yet.

Hell, I didn't even know how these people transported those things, anyway.

"Jes'ca, A-lex'a," the elder said respectfully, nodding his head towards the pit, "You have come back sooner than expected. Take your places in the training pit."

"Yes, respected elder," I answered, bowing my head deeply before making my way over to the familiar sandy area that was the pit. There was a sound that seemed a bit like my spear extending as thick bars came down from the ceiling and cut off the area that the Yautja were in, making them completely safe in their little 'cage'. The door was on their side, too, so there was truly no escaping this battle. I felt myself begin to grow nervous, but quashed it sternly.

Don't you dare go getting squeamish about this now, I hissed at myself, It was your brilliant idea to get into this mess!

"Well, let's roll," I said, pressing the button on my spear to open the weapon to its full length. Lex grinned and did the same, her expression set in a mix between terror and elation. I knew that look well, as I had seen it and worn it often since my adventure began.

Suddenly, the wall to our left began to open slightly, and I heard a venomous hiss from behind that thick slab of metal, followed by furious scrabbling and the crash of impact. I took a crouching stance, seeing Lex do the same out of the corner of my eye, and waited for the three nightmares to burst out of their cage. It was only a matter of time before we were tested yet again, before we truly proved our worth before the watchful eyes of the hunters.

And to think, if people had asked me a month ago what I thought I'd be doing now, I would have said something along the lines of surfing the internet, I thought with an amused snort, feeling a challenging smile tug at my lips as another clawed hand scrabbled at the dirt just under the rising doors, What a strange life I lead.


Strange indeed.