Disclaimer: Nope. I do not own AvP.

A/N: -grins- It's great that people like the story. I have to admit, I was sort of disappointed with how all the Predators died in the movie. Even Scar died in the end.

I know this might sound evil, but I can't promise no one will die in this story. -smirks-

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Before: Lex finds Rave. Saves his life and kills his would-be Alien killer. Lex almost falls to her death but Scar saves HER, but almost kills her afterwards when his anger takes a hold of him. Rave stops him. Lex escapes, leaving the mask for Scar to take back. Pyramid shifts and Scar frees Rave. Rave tells Scar about the life debt he owes the Ooman female.

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Scar barked out in laughter, (A soft meat? That you owe a life debt to? You can't be serious!)

He continued his amused trilling for five seconds. But he quickly caught the smoldering gaze of his bigger companion and the realization that Rave might not be joking quelled his chuckling immediately.

Scar stood straight, his amber gaze locked with Rave's green one. His tone faltering in disbelief, Scar said, (Nooo...) His mandible hung slack-jawed.

The smaller Predator couldn't believe it. Rave, the huge hulking greenish-brown skinned Yautja warrior before him, owed a life debt. A life debt to a female Ooman? It was nearly impossible to believe. Brow ridge raised questioningly, Scar gave Rave an incredulous look. He couldn't be serious. The big Predator HAD to be joking.

Rave could see mirth was threatening to overtake his smaller companion once more. So Scar still found it funny, did he? Snarling, Rave clonked Scar roughly on the head before the smaller one could dodge. Grumbling sorely, Scar made a harder effort to restrain the laughter that threatened to overtake him. Obviously, the bigger Yautja was NOT lying.

(Yes. I AM serious.) Rave snapped, rubbing the arm that had been nearly maimed by a wall a while ago. At the moment, with the doubtful look he still caught lurking in Scar's amber gaze, Rave almost wished he WAS joking. But a life debt was not something to be taken lightly. He knew that and Scar knew that.

Ignoring the pinpricks of pain from his wounds, Rave turned towards the passageway the soft meat had gone, his green gaze then shifting sideways at the tawny-skinned Yautja beside him.

With an exasperated sigh, Scar's shoulders slightly sagged as the realization of the events entered heavily into his mind. If the soft meat prevented Rave's life blood from spilling then... then the colossal Yautja would not let her die before his debt was repaid. Despite some of Rave's rash and brainless actions, he truly was a Yautja bounded by honor and his word. He was known by many through brawls he would usually incite himself, but he was also known to have never told a lie in his life. Joking was a different story. But this... THIS, Scar realized, was no joke.

(I will go after her.) Rave rumbled with finality, leaving the rest unsaid and hanging in the air.

Scar cocked his head slightly as he received the meaning of what was unsaid. Rave would go after her to repay the life debt. But... he had not mentioned Scar. The gigantic greenish-brown skinned Predator was silently asking Scar's decision. Did Scar want to go with Rave? To find and possibly work WITH the Ooman female? If this had been any other Yautja, any other newly blooded warrior, Scar would have scoffed. For what need did he have to go on such a pointless side mission? The Hunt was all that mattered. The Hunt, and finding the perfect trophies to bring home.

But this was Rave. Rave was asking Scar to lend his strength and wisdom in such a strange decision.

So then... what DID Scar think of the whole ordeal?

The silence stretched on for a bit before Rave repeated, his tone gruffer, (I WILL go after her.)

His shoulders set, the greenish-brown skinned Hunter began to stride forward. But before he could go more than half a step, the big Yautja found a restraining hand clamped on his shoulder.

(No,) Scar said, making Rave's head whip angrily towards him, a growl on his mandibles.

Before the bigger Yautja could mistake his meaning and slice his hand off, the tawny-skinned Yautja grinned slightly and said more clearly, (No, you are wrong. WE will go after her. Together, we will find her.)

Slowly, a smug expression replaced the anger that had flashed in Rave's sage-colored eyes.

Slapping Rave's back companionably, Scar stalked a few steps ahead before commenting over his shoulder, (Besides, I remember how well you marked in the tracking tests. Without me, you wouldn't find her until she was already dead.)

Scar heard the heavy footsteps behind him but was ready for the cuff in the back of the head for that remark. He took it well, and even barked shortly in laughter at the same time Rave did, smirking when the tense air between them melted to the more agreeable comrade-in-arms air they had forged long ago.

They WOULD find her. And if Scar could help it, though he did not completely agree with it, he would not allow the life debt to have been made in vain.

-o-o-o-

Lex's sigh sounded harsh in her ears. Why did it seem like she kept making the wrong decisions time and time again? But it's not exactly like she could've actually STAYED with those two Predators. The big guy was unpredictable and Scar… was not agreeable. Not when she had accidentally stolen his mask. Not to mention she was part of the group which had taken their guns as well.

"Hey, maybe I'll get lucky." Lex spoke aloud to herself, "Maybe he won't kill me on sight."

She scoffed a breath later. Right. He didn't seem to have a problem earlier with doing just that. The only reason he stopped was because of the bigger Yautja shouting at him. Lex had heard what Scar had shouted back in reply, his voice filled with surprise. What had he said? Rave?

So then the big guy's name is Rave.

"Wow. Now that I know the Predators' names, I can die happy with their spears wrenched through my gut." Lex commented dryly, her hands flopping to her sides at the absurdity of it all, "And not only do I suddenly KNOW all sorts of crazy names, but I also feel something strange locked away in my brain. Like that mask thing just dumped a whole bunch of crap into my head. Great. This is just great. My head's suddenly been turned into a universal toilet bowl. I'm also TALKING to myself."

Lex gave a small, hysterical laugh. She slumped down against the wall, shoving her head into her hands as she continued, "I'll just have a small mental breakdown right HERE."

She tried to make a mental tally of all the things she suddenly knew since putting the mask on. Somehow, she understood the Predator's language. Information just invaded her mind, like how to kill that Alien thing that held her. But wait, it wasn't just an Alien. Nope. Now Lex knew it was also called a hard meat and Kainde Amedha by the Predators, who were called Yautja; AND the hard meat that was trying to kill her was apparently a Drone intending to drag her off to be baby food. And she was an Ooman. AND the gun was called a Plasmacaster and the spear-thing was called a Combistick and... and...

"Oh man..." Lex groaned, pressing the flat of her palm against her closed eyes, "I do NOT want to think about this right now."

After all, she had to survive this PLACE before she could even begin to think about attempting to survive a mental breakdown.

'Okay, I just need to breathe.' She thought to herself, 'Just breathe...'

Unfortunately for Lex, her attempts to follow her own advice were interrupted as she felt something warm drip on her shoulder. Her face scrunching in disgust as she tried to wipe away the slimy substance, Lex demanded aloud, "What the hell..."

Her face transformed into one of fear as she recognized the clear, gooey substance. It was saliva. And not just anyone's saliva. More of it dripped down the side of her cheek.

Lex's breath literally stopped within her suddenly constricted throat.

She didn't dare look up. But she had to. She HAD to.

Eyes wide, Lex forced herself to slowly bring her gaze above her.

And there, hugging the wall mere hand widths above her head, Lex's brown terror-stricken eyes met with the deadly ebony form.

For a moment, Lex wholeheartedly wished she would wake up in some insane asylum somewhere. Somewhere far away where all of this was some sort of horrible nightmare. She thought she would even prefer a mental breakdown to facing one of the hard meats again.

But that was before something... some sort of knowledge deposited in her mind by the mask... unleashed itself. She would not die. She would not LET herself die.

She would not because she had faced death so many times in this labyrinth she had lost count. Because she had watched everyone die around her. She would not because she was tired. Tired of death knocking around without her kicking it's ass through the proverbial door.

And she would not die because suddenly… suddenly she felt her body warp itself into…

…Something more…

Images of training flitted through her mind. Images of stances and of forms that were utilized to perform the simplest of attack and defensive moves. All of this merged with whatever self-defense she knew she had learned in Earth. With all that knowledge combined, Lex found herself grinning.

Eyes widened with a sudden surge of energy, Lex clenched her fists and launched herself at the surprised hard meat above her, a guttural cry escaping her throat.

-o-o-o-

Both Yautja paused, eyes widened within their mask. After their brief, startled moment, they continued at a brisk jog.

Rave looked a bit confused as he asked slowly, (Was it just me... or did I just hear-)

(A Yautja battle cry?) Scar interrupted the other, nodding, (Yes, I believe we just did.)

(But it also sounded like the... the Ooman female.) Rave noted aloud, still frowning in puzzlement.

A grunt escaped a suddenly tense Scar as he said, (It was.)

(But how could she have copied it so well?) Rave rumbled curiously. Not only had she never heard a proper one, this soft meat couldn't have known how to use the muscles in her throat needed for such a pitch.

Normally, Scar would have redirected the question back at Rave. After all, what better way to get the big brute to start using his head than by thinking things aloud to himself? But right now, Scar was in no mood for such lessons. Instead, the tawny-skinned Yautja replied snappishly, (Probably my mask did something to her. How she even put it on, I'll never know. But from your earlier accounts, I know it's how she understood what we were saying.)

Finally catching onto Scar's flat tone, Rave went from surprise at what Scar had just said to growling lightly, (You're not still thinking of killing her, are you?)

The greenish-brown Yautja had his arms crossed over his broad chest, his brow-ridge raised questioningly. Of course, he had to stop running first. Which would make Scar stop running which was, obviously, the whole point.

Tossing a glance over his shoulder, Scar sighed exasperatedly and stopped in his tracks as well. Sometimes Rave really was running on a one track mind. Get him focused enough on one thing and he damn well would complete it, despite the consequences that would ensue.

Rave demanded a response with an impatient growl, knowing they shouldn't be wasting any time. But he had to know. No point in finding the Ooman if his comrade merely meant to waste her the moment they got their hands on her.

(No.) Scar grunted at first. But when Rave snorted in blatant disbelief, Scar corrected himself, (Fine. Yes. Yes, I WAS thinking about killing her.)

He thought about leaving her mangled and bloodied corpse to rot. However, now that he had his mask back and the killing lust wasn't making his blood boil, Scar realized that to a smaller degree he really didn't care about killing her. Much.

Before his companion could do anything rash, the tawny-skinned Yautja rumbled defeatedly, (But... I won't.)

(How do I know?) Rave demanded, walking stiffly to where Scar stood.

(How?) Scar whipped his head to look up at the bigger Yautja, his mandibles twisted into a wry grin under his mask, (Because I'd have to skin you first, and I'm not looking forward to cleaning your shitty-ass blood off my Wristblades.)

Rave barked out in laughter at that, pounding Scar on the back, (You're right, Scar. Always thinking.)

Scar hadn't braced himself, so he staggered a step forward under the weight of Rave's hand clapping him soundly on the back. Letting out a short, resigned trill of a chuckle himself, Scar said aloud, (Yeah, sure. But I do know one thing: if we don't hurry up that soft meat just may be dead already.)

Without losing another second, they both lunged into a fast pace.

-o-o-o-

Lex found her muscles moving as if trained in the art of combat. She dodged and leaped like never before. Knowledge and decades of practice she had never known or had in her whole lifetime poured and melded into her bones like liquid metal. As she delivered a swift kick to the hard meat's jaw, Lex could only gape as it flew down the corridor. Whatever the mask had done... it was changing her. She felt like a flawed, forgotten scrap of metal that had suddenly been plunged into a great forge and hammered mercilessly. Where the imaginary hammer smoothed out dents, she felt power flow through her limbs. Where the hammer struck, she felt a great release.

Running swiftly to meet the rising hard meat, she sprang into the air and connected her fist solidly with its forehead. Crying out, the hard meat jerked back and whipped its tail at her in retaliation. Lex caught it in a hard grip, quickly placing her other hand over the first as she planted her feet, planning on throwing the creature into the wall. But as she tugged, she realized one thing.

She hadn't grown THAT much stronger.

With a pained shout of her own, Lex found the tables turned as the Drone whipped its tail to slam HER into the wall.

Lex gritted her teeth. All right. So apparently she hadn't been honed into a great sword as she had imagined, but rather a deadly dagger. She didn't have a great flood of strength, but she had the skill and swift speed.

'All right. Not a whole lot of strength. I can deal with that.' Lex thought as her mind conjured up a ridiculous picture in which she had suddenly bulged with enough muscles to compete with a body builder, 'I wouldn't look too good, anyways.'

Ducking under one of the Drone's flailing limbs, for it had moved too quickly for Lex to tell which one it was, the human sprinted for one of the walls. Hissing its frustration at how difficult its prey was being, the hard meat darted after her. Lex didn't slow at all even when the stone wall was a pace and a half away. Instead, she readied the muscles in her left leg a split second before she sprung straight at the solid, vertical stone surface.

Her other foot touched the wall, a seemingly soft caress almost, as she gathered the force of which she had leaped. Less than half a blink later, Lex rebounded off the wall, her graceful form agile and high in the air. The Alien was still rushing at her, but even it had trouble following the sudden change in movement that had overcome its prey. It tried to alter its head on course, but to no avail.

Lex didn't give it time to mend its mistake. It had underestimated her. It had believed she was simply running to get away. But no. Releasing gravity and all the force she had gathered, Lex drove her heel mercilessly onto its head, jarring and enflaming its senses. Before she had even touched the ground, even as the ebony form staggered a step back, Lex swung her other leg across with just as much power as the first. The arc led the foot to ram where the Drone's oblong head connected with its neck.

SNAP.

With an odd jerk, the black bony form stilled. Lex landed soundlessly on the ground, her eyes inspecting the Alien before her. Her brown gaze detected the faint beginnings of movement and she tensed. But the hard meat was dead. And it proved it by dropping stiffly to the ground, its head bent at an odd angle.

"Well," Lex muttered aloud, reminiscing, "at least now I know how I was able to jump so high."

Before she could decide if she was truly grateful for the sudden gift of knowledge, both informational facts within her head and physical, she heard raptor-like cries behind her. Her eyes widened as she whirled to take in the numerous figures racing towards her. There were more hard meats than she could count with both hands. There were at least a dozen, if not more.

Leading the pack was one which had odd, yellow grid marks across its slick black form. But she didn't stay to stand and stare. Pivoting, she sent a surge of power to her legs and ran like she's never run before.

-o-o-o

They heard the cries and rushed forth. But by the time they got there, all that was left was a cold, stiff body.

Scar stooped beside it, raking the Alien's body with his meticulous gaze. Without looking over his shoulder at Rave, Scar inquired quietly, (Do you think...?)

(That the Ooman killed it?) Rave scoffed. But a breath later, a slight frown graced his brow, (You know... a day ago I would have laughed hard just because you said such a ridiculous thought aloud. But now... now I am not so sure.)

Muscular arms crossed over his broad chest, Rave's sage-colored gaze stared hard at the ground as he replayed the image he had captured earlier through his mask. He watched with rapt attention as the Ooman led the beast across the large cavern. Then there was that jump. That incredible leap that should have been impossible for her type of species. It was a high jump that would make even a few Yautja Rave knew go green-eyed with envy. He forwarded the imaging to just before the Disc flashed in her palm. It sliced cleanly through the hard meat's brain and Rave couldn't help but grunt in admiration. It was not many a Yautja that could turn such an unfavorable situation around.

Little did Rave know, Scar was replaying the same image as well, though at a slightly different angle since he had been crouching in a higher location. This was unusual indeed. Not only had the Ooman been able to wear his mask, but apparently she had gained some knowledge from it as well.

It was impossible. Simply impossible. No one could place on another's mask and live. But not just because the owner of said mask would kill the offender for such dishonor, but also because the mask itself would have fried the brain of the thief.

Lex should have died the moment she put it on.

Scar trilled in thought, (Hmm...)

He jerked his head around, dreadlocks whipping behind him as he scanned the hallway, blinking to switch the eye sensors to thermal imaging. All around he saw the fading heat signatures of many clawed hands and feet dashing after the soft meat's booted ones. So she had been targeted then.

At the gruff click from behind him, Scar stood. Rave had come to the same conclusion, apparently, as he growled, (The Drones will not let this one get away. She has proven such a capable prey. Either they will kill her, or they will give her to one of their strongest eggs.)

(One that will be designated a Warrior sooner in life than most Drones could dream.) Scar's trilling was hushed. If such a fate had befallen a Yautja, he would have immediately killed himself upon discovery of the parasite which lived inside him.

Rave growled in contempt, (As if the little worms could dream. They mindlessly serve their Queen.)

(As much as I'd like to agree with you, you'd do well not to underestimate the hard meats, Rave. Look where we are. We're not out of the Hunt yet.)

Scar launched himself into a jog right after the statement, not wanting to waste more time than necessary. If Rave wanted to find the Ooman, then fine. They'll find her. But he was sure Rave wanted to find her alive.

Rave caught up easily, his brow ridge cocked as he observed the smaller Yautja beside him.

Scar, never one for liking to be stared at for long, trilled in annoyance, (What?)

(Don't pretend you don't want to find her as well.) Rave trilled softly, a smirk to his tone, (It was YOUR mask she put on, after all.)

That said, Rave sped up, leaving a spluttering Scar behind. A little ahead, Rave barked out in laughter. Scar gnashed his mandibles silently before he sped up as well. But in the face of Rave's mirth and at the statement itself, Scar couldn't help but laugh as well. Rave, interestingly enough, had the uncanny ability to extract a chuckle out of the usually serious Scar.

At times, Scar regretted Rave's ability to do that. But right now, he had needed a laugh. Scar felt that this whole Ooman female business was going to wear him out extremely if not kill him right out.