Disclaimer: I don't own aliens. I own all characters contained in this fanfic right down to their fleas.

Chapter 6

Hunting Ground

Scar groaned. He hadn't entirely cleared the cave entrance when the rockets hit. Thus he was now pinned beneath the rocks. Sonar was also crushed on top of him and Scar could feel trickles of blood flowing unto him, both his own and Sonar's. The sounds of rocks being shifted reached him. In a few minutes, Snarl and the two drones had managed to clear the rocks away. Sonar was gently lifted off him and he got to his feet.

(Are you all right?) Snarl asked.

He nodded. (Yeah,) he glanced down at himself and examined his wounds. It was nothing to worry about. He glanced over at Sonar.

The older drones looked much worse. Added to the leg wound from the cyborg, his chitin was bleeding profusely. One of the drones was helping him to his feet, but he stumbled and fell to the floor.

(What do we do now?) Snarl asked.

(We won't be able to outrun that thing with Sonar injured,) Scar pointed out. (I guess we try and find another exit and wait for him to heal.)

(Problem, even if we can outrun it,) Snarl began. (It's packing enough firepower to vaporize us.)

(Let's hope it gave up on us,) Scar said.

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"Here is our map of the cave system," Esiki said pointing to the screen on the table. "It's pretty large with lots of entrances and exits. We're downloading the map to the cyborg."

Ordion nodded. "Assuming the cyborg will be able to locate them."

"It will," Esiki assured him.

The door behind them slid open and one of their officers saluted. "Commander, radar reconnaissance indicates that a group of bugs have left the alien hive and are moving toward the cyborg's current hunting ground. A praetorian is leading them."

"A praetorian?" Esiki asked. "Good, before the cyborg goes to eliminate the skitir in the cave, we shall test it in combat with a praetorian."

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The darkness didn't bother the party of xenomorphs as they moved through the cave. They had journeyed down the tunnel without incident. They didn't even see any side tunnels. Although Scar was worried because the tunnel was sloped slightly downward, indicating that they were just going deeper in the earth.

Finally, they came to a dead end. Or so it had seemed at first, until Snarl had looked up and saw that the ceiling gave way and they would be able to climb up the walls.

However, Sonar had needed to be supported to walk and they would have to carry him up the wall. Scar managed to haul him up, but not without a few remarks at the expense of Sonar's weight.

Once, they reached the top of the tunnel, they found a large room with multiply tunnels leading away from it.

(Well, which one do we take?) Snarl asked, glancing around at the multiply tunnels.

(Check them all,) Scar said. (See if you can see light or feel a breeze. Anything that might indicate a way out.)

They did, but they couldn't find anything. They settled for a random uphill path.

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Xena's group of drones marched through the jungle. She glanced around looking for the creature from her dreams. She had set a frantic pace and the drones were having trouble keeping up with her longer strides.

She stopped in a clearing and looked around. The bodies of several xenomorphs lay there. She wondered for a moment if any of them were her friends, but quickly dismissed the thought. If her dreams were right, then they were still alive, or could be.

The praetorian glanced back at the panting xenomorphs. She decided to give them a short break. Xena remained alert and glanced around. She had a nagging sense of unease. She heard a ghostly voice echo through the air. Alarmed, she raised her head and glanced around franticly. She saw nothing, but the voice continued it's whispering. She couldn't make out what it was saying though. Xena relaxed and tried to ignore the voice, dismissing it as her imagination.

The sound of plasma fire split the air and a blast of energy slammed into one of the drones. More shots emerged from the bushes, each hitting one of the drones and ending its existence. Xena ducked out of the clearing and behind a large tree. She glanced out from behind the tree and watched as the last of the drones were gunned down.

Leaves rustled as the cybernetic praetorian from her dreams emerged. It walked past the dead drones and toward her. When it was close enough, Xena leapt out from behind the tree and rammed her head into its stomach. Xena groaned as her head meant the metal that covered it.

The cyborg lashed out with its tail, but Xena jumped back to avoid it. It tried again to hit her with its tail, but Xena again dodged. Its tail darted back and this time its metal tip imbedded itself in her shoulder. Xena roared in pain and jumped away pulling the stinger out of her shoulder. She glanced at the stinger and noticed with surprise that the metal wasn't melting under the acid.

Raising its metal hand, the cyborg charged forward to finish her. Xena leapt to the side and grabbed the metal arm with both hands. Then she set her foot against the creature's side and pushed, while pulling with her arms in the opposite direction. With the sound of tearing metal, the arm tore free and sent Xena falling to the ground. The cyborg screeched in pain. The cannon attached to its stomach turned to face her. Just as it was about to fire, the praetorian screeched in pain again and jumped away. Clutching its head in agony, it turned and ran into the bushes. Xena growled and jumped to her feet, then she charged into the bushes after it.

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Xena emerged from the bushes and saw her quarry, standing trapped on the edge of a cliff. Xena quickly charged toward it, hoping to close the distance before it noticed she was there and gunned her down from afar, but luck was on her side and it just kept glancing around for a way to escape. It finally glanced back, when she was seconds away from delivering the blow that would send it off the cliff.

(You!) Xena shouted in surprise. The cyborg praetorian's cannon turned toward her. Without thinking, she leapt into the air and collided with the cyborg, sending them both over the cliff.