Disclaimer: Uh-huh, you know the drill. I totally own every AvP related merchandise. Haha- NOT.

A/N: Haha -grins- It's nice to see some familiar faces. Thanx for the reviews, all. Personally, I like both Rave and Scar. I might have liked the third Yautja as well, but I don't really know him.

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year to everyone!

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Before: Scar agrees to go with Rave after the girl. Lex almost collapses into a mental breakdown, what with all the information she suddenly found dumped in her mind by the mask. But before she can begin to go all crazy, she encounters another Alien. Surprisingly, Lex finds herself able to fight, and not only that, but she could fight REALLY well. Apparently the mask had not only slipped information to her mind, but to her body as well. She kills the hard meat, but more come after her, led by Grid. Scar and Rave find the Alien she killed and come to the conclusion that now the Aliens definitely won't leave her alone. Rave notices something Scar doesn't. Could it be possible Scar has more interest in finding the Ooman than he realizes?

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(This is like a damn youngling's game of chase!) Rave growled angrily, kicking the freshly killed Alien corpse from pure spite. If it had been alive he would have gladly pummeled it bloodily back to oblivion.

(You're the one who wanted to find her.) Scar pointed out with a short bark, glancing wearily at the dead hard meat Rave had cast aside.

It had to have been the third or fourth body they had found since trailing the Ooman. Apparently the Queen still had her Drones pursuing her, relentless in her quest to acquire a strong body with which to hatch one of her eggs. Though, both Scar and Rave noted, the Ooman female was not making it an easy task.

Prowling forward in the darkness, Scar halted at an intersection. At this point, he cursed under his breath. It was a sound Rave caught clearly.

(What?) Rave demanded with a trill of impatience, stalking up behind the smaller Yautja, (What is it?)

(She seems to have eluded them.) Scar clicked his mandibles, impressed. Though when he caught himself doing it, he instantly stopped, focusing instead on the multiple passageways before them, (The group of hard meats pause here, then split up. Three or more for each corridor.)

(Only three?) Rave chittered in slight amusement, (She can take three.)

(Or MORE.) Scar repeated, annoyed for some reason at his friend's instant warming up to the soft meat, (Besides, who's to say there aren't more laying in wait ahead?)

The bigger, greenish-brown Yautja cocked his brow-ridge once more, making Scar groan in dread at the next words that would come rolling out of Rave's mouth.

(Why do you always look for the worst, Scar?)

(Because that's life, for you.)

Rave looked unconvinced, (Why do you keep insisting the Ooman is dead? Do you want her to be? Do you not think I hold my life debt seriously?)

(Wha-?) Scar looked slightly flustered, head whipping around to look at the bigger Predator. Why had he tried to expand Rave's thought processes? It might have been easier handling a big dumb brute than this slightly smarter big dumb brute. (What are you- I never said... Gah! Forget this. Let's just go and find her before you make me deaf with your ramblings about your honor and wha-)

(Hey.) Rave clicked in a rumbled burst, taking slight offense, as he interrupted, (Honor is very important to me.)

Picking a route at random, Scar quickly stepped up his pace and shot back in an irritated trill, (Yeah, I know.)

Ignoring, or simply not taking notice, of Scar's aggravation, Rave continued, (And I take this VERY seriousl-)

(YEAH.) Scar interjected, going just a little bit faster, (I KNOW Rave.)

Rave easily caught up with Scar, falling quickly into the fast pace the yellowish-brown skinned Yautja had set. As their powerful, muscled forms stole into the dim passages, a question trilled out, (Are you sure you know where we're going?)

A loud, exasperated sigh was the only reply.

-o-o-o-

Her breathing was loud in her ears. Even as her eyes, exhausted from lack of sleep, attempted to form every shadow into a deadly foe, Lex made sure to keep her senses alert. She was crouched in a nook located at least twenty yards from the ground floor. Adrenaline hadn't let her down and neither did her trained muscles as she scaled the wall faster then two or three blinks of an eye. She had only to wait a few more moments before she realized she lost the Aliens trailing her.

And the fact that she shook off most of the hard meats at the last intersection helped a lot.

She had rested long enough for her mind to, once again, catch up. And she found that she was not too happy with herself.

'WHAT am I doing? What am I thinking? Fighting those things... like I stand a chance... which, surprisingly, I do. Hah, I kicked their asses.' At this point, Lex shook her head. One part of her was terribly afraid and upset, but the other part... was swelled with pride. She had beaten them back. She had KILLED some of them. And, of course, BOTH parts of her were exhausted.

Lex felt so drained. How long had she been in the pyramid? She didn't know anymore. The black woman wasn't even sure she CARED. All she wanted was to get OUT of the pyramid, get BACK to the Piper Maru and ride all the way back to the little apartment she had bought in New York. Lex didn't think she'd ever look at the 'dangers' in the big city the same way ever again.

"If I ever get out of here..." Lex grumbled to herself.

But she never finished the sentence. Her eyelids drooping closed, Lex slumped against the cramp quarters of her hiding place and fell instantly asleep.

-o-o-o-o-

'LOST her!' The Queen raged, 'You LOST her?'

Grid cringed, instinctively wanting to back away. But even if it did, it wouldn't help. Like all Drones, Grid was mind-linked to the Queen. She was shouting in its own head and no amount of running would get it away from her furious wail. Thankfully, at least, her anger was not totally directed towards Grid.

Obediently still, Grid remained crouched where it was as another trembling hard meat made its way forward. Knowing its fate, the slightly older Drone still shrieked loudly before the Queen chomped its head between her jaws. Yellow acidic blood dribbling harmlessly down her chin, the Queen tossed the body away in disgust and whipped her head towards Grid.

Grid jerked as if slapped, though the Kainde Amedha stiffened immediately afterwards. It knew what her acknowledgement of its presence meant. It knew the responsibilities, benefits and... penalties.

'YOU! Gather more young Drones. Get me out of these shackles!'

With a brief, wary glance at the crumpled and prone form a few lengths away, Grid did its best to comply quickly. It didn't know how the filthy Yautja had managed to capture and shackle their Queen, but it knew its mother was smart enough to know freedom when she sniffed it.

Had the Yautja gotten careless? Had something gone wrong? It didn't matter. All that mattered was what the Queen wanted.

And right now, she required sacrifice of a few of its brethren.

-o-o-o-o-

Lex woke with a start, blinking blearily as her mind struggled to comprehend what had woken her.

That's when she heard the familiar voices.

(What do you mean, you don't know?) A deep, gruff voice demanded.

Keeping low and quiet, Lex crawled forward to peek over the edge. Her brow furrowed as her searching eyes found no one inhabiting the large corridor. She was about to stand to get a better look when she caught herself a split second before the speaking continued.

The second voice, deep but slightly higher in pitch, snapped out in irritation, (I MEAN that I'm not sure. There are too many heat trails over the walls and floors. It's hard to tell wher-)

(You CLAIMED you were the best, Scar. I guess it was all talk.)

Lex blinked. She didn't SEE anyone. They must've been wearing those invisibility cloaks or something. That's when one of the worst things that could happen started to actually happen.

The pyramid chose this time to shift around.

Glancing around her little alcove, Lex realized she couldn't stay where she was. Unless she planned on becoming as flat as a pancake, she was definitely going to have to move.

Stooping low, she made a running leap. She planned on making her way over to the ledge on the wall across from her own. What she hadn't planned on, was part of the ceiling lowering quick enough to get in her way. With widened eyes, she hit it and found herself falling the long way to the ground.

Scar growled as he caught on to the movements of the structure. THIS would not help his tracking in any way. Both de-cloaking to allow their shields time to charge, Scar and Rave began to make their way across the corridor. That's when the most surprising thing of all happened.

Right before their feet, the Ooman landed with a loud 'Oof!' Much to her credit, she actually landed on her feet, crouched like a cat. Green and amber eyes widened at the soft meat before them. The creature they had been tracking for hours was just suddenly... THERE, right before them.

(Wow, you're better than I thought.) Rave commented in a short trill of respect, throwing a sidelong glance at Scar.

"Hi... guys." Lex smiled nervously. Was the other Yautja still out to kill her? Even as she steadied her feet against the constant shifting, Lex's brown eyes darted around her, scouting for escape routes.

(We don't have time for this.) Scar growled, hand darting out and clamping onto Lex's before she could think about going anywhere.

With a brief nod towards Rave, ensuring he wouldn't kill her, Scar started into a jog. It would be safer if they got out of that corridor, seeing as how it was madly shuffling around blocks like pieces of a disorganized puzzle. At first, Lex had attempted to dig her heels in and rip her hand out of his grasp. Unfortunately, he was still many times stronger than her.

Snapping his amber gaze into her brown ones, Scar gave a short bark, (Either you run with me, or you get dragged.)

"Fair enough." Lex muttered, quickly stepping into gear.

She wasn't interesting in getting more bruises or injuries to her body, pride, or anything else. Rave jogging alongside them, the three set off quickly through the suddenly cramped space. Clearing the hallway just in time, the two Yautja and the one Ooman paused to watch the stone wall slide shut.

Now that the danger had momentarily passed, all three took the time to study one another. Much to the Yautja's surprise, Lex wasn't as bloody as they imagined she'd be. And much to Lex's surprise, the Predators didn't look half as pissed as she thought they'd be. It didn't help any to clip off the slight nervousness she still felt. They were both taller than seven or eight feet, after all, with bodies as deadly equipped as the weapons they carried.

Lex found her brown eyes trailing to the yellowish-brown skinned hand that was still clamped over hers.

(I'll release you if you promise not to run.) Scar grunted, waiting for her brown eyes to lock onto his.

For a few moments, they held a staring contest, which Rave watched from the sidelines with great interest. At last, Lex turned her gaze away. She didn't forget what she had found the last time she had stared into those amber eyes, and it was with great relief that this time she only had the mask's visor to look at. It was something she didn't want to find again, though she knew that NOW she definitely couldn't disregard the fact that they were somewhat intelligent. Scar, on the other hand, found himself absurdly relieved she had looked away first. He, himself, had gotten slightly uncomfortable staring into her brown eyes, finding the softness there intensely disturbing. And he knew Rave would never let him live it down had he looked away first, what with the big brute watching it all and everything.

Taking that as her consent, Scar reluctantly relinquished his hold.

Without missing a beat, Lex kicked the Yautja's feet from under him and darted away. Hitting the ground with a curse, Scar was on his feet less than a breath later, sprinting after the fleeing soft meat. It wasn't much of a chase as Scar leaped into the air, landing solidly on her back and ending it quickly.

Finding herself sprawled on her stomach with Scar actually sitting on her back, Lex let out a defeated sigh. As if she believed for one moment she could have gotten away that easily. From the looks of things, the two Predators seemed to have been tracking her. But why? She had given his mask back AND his gun.

Sending a dagger-like glare at Rave, Scar demanded, (Why didn't you stop her?)

Inspecting his claws nonchalantly, Rave replied, (It looks like you have things under control.)

"Will you get off?" Lex made a demand of her own, twisting her head to half look at the armored Yautja sitting calmly on her back, "I can't breath."

(I told you not to run.)

"No." Lex corrected, "You wanted me to promise not to run. I didn't promise. AND I did not just run. I took you by surprise and THEN ran."

With a growl at her tone, Scar whipped his head to send another glare at his bigger companion.

(She IS right.) Rave clicked with a shrug.

Scar sighed aloud in his ever-growing exasperation. Why was he stuck with these two again? Oh right, because the Yautja was one of his childhood friends and the Ooman was the one being in the ENTIRE universe Rave owed a life debt to.

(Unbelievable.) Scar mumbled, rolling his eyes.

As Lex lay there, struggling to breathe, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Feeling Scar's weight shift slightly on her back, Lex took advantage and hooked her leg through one of his. Before anything could be done, Lex flexed her abs and leg muscles and twisted with a burst of movement. Much to the Yautja's surprise, Scar soon found their positions reversed. Now HE was on the bottom and SHE was the one sitting on him. Scar wasn't sure who's maw was gaping wider, HIS or Rave's.

Scar blinked, looking up to find an equally surprised gaze on Lex's face, (Wha- did you just...) But words seemed to fail him at the moment. Did he just get bested by the Ooman female?

Straddling his stomach, Lex leaned forward, a smirk replacing her astonishment as she realized what she just did, "I NEEDED to breathe. I did tell you, remember?"

But Scar could only blink once more, his mind still dwelling on what had just happened. She had just reversed their positions. Just like that. Even though he hadn't really been trying, she was JUST an Ooman. How could she have turned his own pin back on him?

As if the whole situation had finally sunk in, Rave suddenly erupted into bursts of barking laughter. The look on Scar's face was priceless. Priceless! Scar's thoughts, however, sort of bordered on the lines of, 'I did NOT think my Hunt would be anything like this.' At the sound of Rave's laughter, Scar's brow ridge creased underneath his mask. The big Yautja was laughing at him! Well... the situation did seem funny... A newly blooded warrior being pinned by an Ooman female. Hell, if it had been Rave pinned in his place, Scar would be laughing his head off as well.

Of course, consequently afterwards the female would've had to die.

Finally noticing her own position, legs straddling the Predator's armored chest, Lex was swift to stand. Her quick movement caught the attention of both Yautja's and Rave's laughter died down immediately. Would she run?

She certainly did look like she considered the option, what with her eyes glancing at the passages around the large chamber. Trying not to scare her off, Scar rose slowly to his feet, his gaze never leaving her face.

Lex's mind was plunged in sudden chaos. Should she leave? Even with her newfound fighting abilities, Lex doubted whether she would make it out of the pyramid alive. At least, not alone. But could she trust these two Predators? Was it wise to stay with them after all? The bigger one, the one named Rave, looked the most hurt, yet he was still standing. And Lex did not doubt his ability to fight.

Speaking of the big Yautja, Lex sensed more than actually saw him standing somewhere behind her. His presence was closer, much closer. As if he was preparing to stop her if she tried to escape. Once again, the black woman found herself under the assault of that same question: SHOULD she leave?

Scar was standing before her now, his amber gaze focused on her face even as he watched for the slightest movement from her. The slightest twinge of a muscle and he would snatch her arm once more. He couldn't let her leave. At least, not before Rave explained to her what it was the big Yautja owed her for her earlier actions.

At a speed she couldn't comprehend, Lex could feel her mind going through multiple scenarios that would allow her escape. But most of them included at least killing one of the Yautja warriors, if that was even possible. And Lex did not feel like adding more to her list of grievances that she had done to Scar. And if it was Scar that she killed, then she doubted the big guy would let her take another step and still be alive. No, she would not kill them. She wasn't even sure she could have.

Crossing her arms as she momentarily accepted defeat, Lex sighed. Her slight movement had caused Scar to visibly twitch, but nothing more. She couldn't keep running like this. Lex realized that she couldn't run from the Aliens AND the Predators as well. It would be smarter to team up with one of the two. And since the Yautja were offering...

"If you promise not to kill me, I won't run." Lex found herself saying.

Scar blinked.

Rave guffawed, one large hand falling on her shoulder as he stepped up beside her, (Kill you? Why would we do that?) Impressed already by her many kills, the big Yautja easily forgot how her companions had taken their guns earlier, forcing the beginning of the Hunt before the Yautja were even ready. He even almost forgot that she was an Ooman. Almost.

Lex had staggered underneath his friendly 'pat' on her back, stumbling into Scar's chest at Rave's unexpected strength. Scar's arms had instinctively closed around her to prevent Lex from bouncing back off his chest and onto the ground.

Caught off guard by his own reaction, the shorter Yautja was stunned to feel the warmth within his hold. It had been pure instinct, but now that he had the tiny Ooman within his grasp, he experienced a disconcerting wave of comfort. Snorting at the odd revelation, Scar gently flexed his mandibles as he looked down at the female. She had fallen slack in his hold from stumbling, but when she seemed to realize where she was, her body stiffened. He could feel her heart hammering wildly through the thermal netting, her stature so short that her shoulders only reached the bottom of his pectoral armor.

Despite her obvious increased heart rate, her gaze, when finally lifted to look at him, veiled her fear and discomfort. Instead it radiated with a healthy sense of irritation. Scar's amber eyes blinked slowly before he trilled in amusement. This gesture only seemed to irk her more.

Finding himself strangely reluctant to release her, Scar basically pried his arms from around her with pure willpower alone. Immediately, he shot a death glare towards the bigger Yautja. Rave was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, shrugging. Sometimes the big brute just didn't know his own strength. Especially when it came to fragile Ooman creatures. Embarrassed at the close contact, Lex quickly stepped back. Searching Scar's masked face and body language to see if she had offended him, Lex was surprised to meet something that wasn't anger. He was looking at her strangely and Lex didn't quite know how to interpret it. Much to her astonishment, it was Scar this time who looked away first.

Eyeing the two Yautja warily, Lex replied, "Kill me? Well, first of all, you killed some of the men on my team-"

(You took our weapons.) Rave interjected.

"True, but we didn't know the owners were alive at the time." Lex continued, unfazed as she nodded her head in Scar's direction, "Not to mention he tried killing me as well."

(You took his mask.) Rave said simply.

"Not on purpose." Lex said defensively, "And I gave it back."

(You don't seem to understand.) Scar stepped in, his tone serious, (The act of putting someone else's mask itself should have KILLED you.)

Sensing some tension at the mention of the mask, Lex lowered her eyes, "Oh." Then the rest of his statement sunk in, "Wait. KILL me? Why was it supposed to do that?"

(No one has ever put another's mask on and lived. Each in existence has been made specifically for each Yautja. Made FOR that Yautja and worn only BY that Yautja.) Scar explained, (You should have DIED the moment the mask attached to your face.)

"I almost did..." Lex reminisced aloud, her voice soft. She had almost suffocated to death, "I... I couldn't breathe. And then... suddenly I did."

Rave looked baffled. Scar still looked a bit disgruntled. And Lex... well, she found her brown gaze tracing that very same mask that was on Scar's face. She wasn't sure what to feel. Apparently, the Yautja culture took matters regarding their personal masks very seriously. And for some strange reason, Lex suddenly found the thought of someone taking another's mask justifiably wrong.

Crossing his brawny arms, a smirk on his mandibles, Rave said, (Since the mask didn't kill you, Scar did feel obligated to.)

"Did...?" Lex echoed, looking warily at Scar.

(You... saved Rave's life.) Scar explained with a trill of reluctance, his attention switching to the bigger Yautja's.

"Oh yeah... about that-" Lex started to say. She hadn't really understood why she did it. The fact of the matter was that she merely felt compelled. But Rave interrupted her.

(It's not just THAT.) Rave's tone turned serious, (I owe you a life debt.)

"A life... debt?" Lex said slowly, "So... you did not come to kill me?"

The larger, greenish-brown Yautja chuckled at that as he replied, (No. We did not come to kill you. If anything, we've come to commend you on your kills. The Kainde Amedha are not easily slain.)

Then suddenly, as Rave's words rang through the air, it hit Scar. Hard.

Lex had KILLED hard meats. During the Hunt. She had killed them DURING the Hunt.

(Did you kill them with your own hands?) Scar demanded with a gruff bark.

Still trying to get over the fact that the big guy actually owed her something other than an agonizingly slow death, Lex blinked, her mind sluggish under the weight of their words, "Huh?"

She couldn't quite understand how the question was relevant to their situation.

(What are you getting at, Scar?) Rave inquired with a lost bark, apparently unsure as well. He had detected the slight alarm in Scar's voice and knew something was up. 'Why would he want to know how she killed the hard meats?' Rave wondered to himself. Then it slowly dawned on the bigger Yautja as he commented, (Scar, we SAW her kill the first one hand-to-hand...)

"What are you two talking about?" Lex demanded, wondering if she should start to get worried right about now. The way both now held their bodies portrayed a sort of seriousness she had not seen in them before. As one, they turned their heads toward her and she tensed, not knowing what to expect. Had she done something wrong by killing the hard meats hand-to-hand? It had been in self-defense. They had been trying to kill her! She couldn't possibly get into trouble with the Yautja for THAT.

Scar pulled something out of one of his side pouches. If it was possible, Rave believed the Ooman next to him tensed even more, resembling a stone statue. No doubt she believed Scar had retrieved some sort of weapon. But upon further inspection, Lex saw it was only one of the dead Alien's fingers. The female soft meat frowned. What was he going to do with that?

(I've never heard of this happening before...) Rave commented aloud, his clicking trailing off.

(Well, I don't know any other way to go about it.) Scar replied, his gaze flickering back to the very confused Ooman before them.

Leaning in close, Rave hissed in barely audible clicks, (Just do it before she runs off.)

"Ummm... I'm sorry but what does my killing of hard meats have anything to do with that finger?" Lex questioned, looking suspiciously at the two Predators before her.

Scar looked towards Rave, silently asking the other to explain. But he received no such luck as the bigger Yautja, scratching his neck, coughed and pretended that he had found something on the ceiling suddenly more interesting. Scar cursed Rave inwardly, sighing outwardly. There really was no other way to go about it.

(You killed hard meats, hand-to-hand, during a Hunt.) Scar said, stepping up to her, Alien finger still in hand, (You are a blooded warrior now. Like us, you must be marked.)

"Marked?" Lex echoed once again, eyes darting from the finger to the yellowish-brown skinned Yautja before her.

That's when her eyes noticed the mark on Scar's mask. For some reason she knew the little scar hadn't been there before. It was two curved, deep gouges that reminded Lex of two Nike sports logos, one horizontal and the second below it vertical. But she had a feeling it wasn't in any way related to sports merchandise.

With a hiss of pressure, both masks came off, exposing Lex once more to their lovable faces. She saw the marks had even been made on their large foreheads. Lex wasn't slow. She knew, even as the information surfaced in her mind, that she would be marked on the skin as well. Noticing the green acidic blood on the tip of the finger for the first time, Lex cringed inwardly. They were going to do it with THAT.

'Suck it up,' Lex thought to herself, knowing with much certainty that she couldn't simply refuse getting marked, 'this seems as important to them as that whole mask thing earlier. Maybe even more.'

Okay, so they were going to mark her. With the hard meat's blood. Which... was acidic. Ouch.

Tilting her head slightly upwards, Lex waited for the inevitable burst of pain.

Surprised and gratified that she was taking it so well, Scar took one more step closer and lowered the finger to her face. After a moment of indecision, he decided it might be best if he placed the mark on her cheek. Her forehead was not nearly as big and wide as theirs. Not to mention he didn't want the acid eating its way into her brain if the hard meat's blood proved more hazardous to this soft meat than anticipated.

Dabbing the acid tip on her cheek, he noted that the edge of her lip twitched. Pulling it away, he heard her sucking air through clenched teeth, but still she made no sound of pain. Rave nodded his head once in approval and Scar brought the finger back to finish the mark.

When it was done, Lex opened her eyes and stared into Scar's amber ones. There was that look again in his eyes. The one she had caught him giving her earlier. Something stirred in Lex and she couldn't find the will the tear her own gaze away.

That's when Rave suddenly stepped up as well, his fist slamming against his chest, right above where his heart would be. It was a gesture of approval and respect.

But what came next wasn't something Lex could have DREAMED.

(Welcome, Ooman, to our Clan.)

Lex started, eyes wide, "What?"

They never told her about this!