I've got nothing to do and my forums are gone…again. So, here's chapter 4.

They had just left the solar system and were preparing to go back into stasis. Xeno, who had deactivated and detached his mechanical arms, wasn't too happy about it.

"If I didn't know how long this trip would take, I would've destroyed these things!"

"At least you fixed it so you won't stay conscious."

"True, but do you have any idea how claustrophobic it feels after the first year or so?"

"I'll take your word for it." As they climbed into their capsules, Xeno remembered the question that he had wanted to ask Shadow earlier.

'Shadow, why did you decide to come with me?'

'I thought you could read minds,' Shadow thought back.

'I chose to respect your privacy. Besides, I want to hear it from you.'

'I thought that's what you would have wanted, why?'

'It's just that, after spending so many years thinking that Maria was dead, I thought for sure that you would want to ensure that she never left your sight again.'

'Xeno, you have no idea how much that girl means to me.'

'I do, but please continue.'

'You gave something back to me, that I thought I had lost forever. And that's a debt that I could never repay'

'You helped me get this thing out of orbit, didn't you?'

'Yes, but that wasn't the original deal.'

'So what else do you get out of this?'

'Sonic isn't the only one who likes to go on adventures'

'Well, thanks I guess. The computer should wake us up if we come across a planet with intelligent life."

Shadow awoke to a certain prototype vigorously shaking his shoulder.

"Stop! I'm awake already!" After shaking off the drowsiness from being asleep for so long, with some help from the serum that Xeno gave him, the two of them ate and brought the ship into a geostationary orbit around the planet that they had found. That done, Shadow prepared to Chaos Control them both to the planet's surface, when they received what appeared to be a distress call. After listening to the message, Xeno old Shadow about his findings.

"It's not a distress signal, it's a warning."

"Maybe we should find another planet…"

"Shadow, don't be silly. We were designed to be the Ultimate life forms, remember?"

"I guess that's true…"

"We can take on anything that comes our way. Besides, whatever's down there can't be that bad."

"Famous last words."

On the planet's surface, Shadow found a spot so desolate, he doubted anything could possibly live within a mile of the area. So that was where he decided to fulfill his half of the bargain. Unfortunately, there was one small problem that he had overlooked.

"We don't have a Chaos Emerald!"

"Relax, I thought of that," Xeno replied. He then gave Shadow the fake Emerald that Tails had made.

"How much time did you actually spend planning this?"

"About five decades, now start teaching." They were about midway through the lesson when something pounced from behind a boulder and thrust its tail into Shadow's side. He was about to fight back, but suddenly felt fatigued. Falling to the ground, he watched helplessly as Xeno was incapacitated as well. Then everything went black.

As Xeno slowly regained his senses, he realized that he couldn't move. When his blurred vision had finally focused enough that he could make out his surroundings, he found that he had been fastened to a wall with some kind of resin. Shadow, who was plastered to the opposite wall, was wide-awake and struggling to get free. When struggling didn't work, he freed himself with Chaos Burst and quickly helped Xeno to do the same.

"What is this place?" The black hedgehog wondered.

"I don't know, but there's something…familiar about it."

"You've been here before?"

"No. Until you opened my stasis capsule, I'd never been outside the ARK. There's something familiar about this place, but I can't put my finger on it." Without warning, one of the creatures that had attacked them came out of its hiding place in the wall and lunged at them. It opened its mouth, extending its fang-lined tongue toward the two Ultimate Life Forms.

'Stop!' The thing froze, its teeth inches from Shadow's eye. It turned its long, curved, eyeless head toward Xeno. Then, Xeno heard a foreign voice in his mind.

'You are part of the Hive Mind?' It didn't take long for Xeno to realize that the voice didn't belong to Shadow.

'Please, release my brother.' To the prototype's surprise and relief, it dropped Shadow on the ground. 'Shadow, don't attack it.'

'What! That thing tried to kill me!'

'I know, but I think I remember my connection to this place now. We've found the planet LV-426, the Xenomorph homeworld. The Xenomorphs were one of the creatures that Dr. Gerald used when he made me.' Shadow was about to protest when he noticed that his brother looked oddly similar to the creatures that had captured them. They were similar in body stature, structure, coloration, and even behavior to a degree. Xeno then turned toward the Drone and telepathically said 'Take me to your Queen.'

When they got to the egg chamber, the drone immediately left, while the Praetorians circled around them. The Queen then addressed Xeno.

'What are you creatures?'

'We were created by humans.' Xeno began. 'They were trying to create the Ultimate Lifeform. My brother and I are the results of their experiments, which they referred to as Project: Shadow. They biologically engineered us with powers beyond imagination, in an attempt to create something immortal…' He proceeded to tell her about his and Shadow's life stories, from the first second that he was capable of conscious thought, to waking up in the Hive. '…All I wanted was to find a place where I would be accepted and allowed to coexist with everyone else.' The queen considered his words for what seemed like hours, then decided their fate.

'You, hybrid warrior, may choose to leave this world forever, or stay and serve the hive.' Xeno's heart skipped a beat. He had finally found a place where he would be allowed to be part of a community. 'On one condition.'

'I'm listening.'

'Your…brother…is a threat to my children. He shall be the host for one of my eggs.' The Praetorians grabbed Shadow and prepared to restrain him to the wall once more. Xeno reacted without thinking.

'You can't be serious! Shadow's the only family I have! And he has friends on Earth that need him!'

'All threats to the Hive must be eliminated.' Xeno couldn't believe what was happening. He had unwittingly betrayed the very person who had helped him achieve his goals. The prospect of living among these creatures didn't seem so appealing anymore. He did the only thing he could do.

'Wait, take me instead!'

'And how would that justify his actions?'

'Shadow has made a future for himself on Earth and has friends who miss him very much. If he dies, then I have nothing to live for.'

'Your request shall be granted.' They removed Shadow from the wall and began to escort him from the chamber, despite his protests. Then Xeno sent him a brief mental image of the room in the ARK where the robotic arms had been recharging. A short while later, Xeno was kneeling before one of the eggs, wishing there was more that he could've done with his life. Before the Facehugger attached itself to him, he muttered what he thought would be his final words.

'I was a fool to think that I could ever be accepted as a member of any society.'

Xeno opened his eyes to find himself plastered to the wall in the queen's chamber. The facehugger had fulfilled its purpose, and it was only a matter of time before the incubation period was over. Just as he was about to forgo all interest in anything except his own misery, Shadow materialized next to him and freed him from the resin.

"Shadow, you shouldn't be here!"

"You saved my life, and I couldn't call myself your friend if I didn't return the favor."

"But I didn't want you to come back for me! I sent you that mental image because I the invention to be yours when my time came!"

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep waiting, assuming that's alright with you…brother," Shadow added with a smirk. Returning the expression, Xeno felt something moving in his chest, followed by excruciating pain. He let out a loud screech as the chestburster made its way out. An ocean of drones rushed into the chamber and surrounded them. The Queen reached out and picked up the chestburster, grinning excitedly. Then it did something that shocked everyone; it opened its eyes. Never in the history of the species had there been a Xenomorph with visible eyes. Then, as if to add to her already growing fear, it looked straight at her, and she felt something prying into her mind. It was too much for her, and she dropped the chestburster, clutching at her elongated head.

'You're no child of mine! Come now, my faithful bretherin, and eliminate these monsters who threaten us with their very existence!' They all rushed forward, and Shadow found himself wishing that he hadn't come back. He braced himself for the pain that would signal his death…but it never came. The drones had fallen to the ground, clutching their heads as the queen had, and were screaming in pain.

"The Chestburster did this?"

'Close, but no cigar.' Shadow couldn't believe what he had just heard. It couldn't be…

"Xeno?"

'I didn't exactly tell you everything that my invention could do,' Xeno said telepathically, as he stood up shakily. One of the arms had liquefied and entered the gaping wound in his chest, which it was slowly repairing. Picking up the injured chestburster from the spot where she had dropped it, he looked up at the Queen once more. 'Shadow and the little one aren't all that threatens your hive. So I wish to make another bargain. Shadow and I will leave this hive and never return, on the condition that we take the child with us. If you do not meet our demands, I will destroy your mind bit by bit, and when the others no longer have a queen to follow, Shadow will wipe every single one of them from the face of the planet. So, do we have a deal?'

"I didn't think you had it in you," said Shadow as they rested in the ARK's lounge. Xeno, who cradled the now sleeping chestburster in his arms, felt more guilt than he had ever known.

"Neither did I."

"But you got what you wanted, right? They let us go and you let them live."

"Shadow, I think my…our…creators' actions may have been justified after all."

"What, how can you say that!" Xeno looked up from the chestburster.

"Because I was causing them pain…and I liked it." There was a long pause. Finally, Shadow spoke up.

"So, what are you going to do with…?" He gestured toward the Chestburster.

"I think I'll keep him…as a son of sorts."

"What're you going to call him, Mini-me?"

"That name's already been taken." The two Ultimate Life Forms then received a mental image from the small creature in Xeno's arms; an image of himself, looking into a mirror.

"I think he wants to be your clone," Shadow said jokingly.

"A Duplicate Xeno?" He looked down at the Chestburster, who was staring up at him with crystal blue eyes. "I think I'll call you 'DX' for short…"

That's all for now. Please review. And just for the record, Shadow and I are NOT a gay couple, so I'd better not see any "Spikeback Mountain" jokes!