Selim stood on the threshold of the bed-chamber; a force gripping his guts, twisting them into a ball. He would not allow himself to cry, his hands pressed hard over his eyes, as if pressure alone could force tears back in.

'I am no longer a child. I have left weeping behind me. I must regain control!'

Behind him, a voice said, "What are you doing?"

He hastily wiped his face and turned to find Halkrath standing there. Selim knew he must look strange; his eyes wet; hands trembling.

"Nothing…. I just…"

He tailed off and drew his arm across his mouth, frozen for a moment with the impossibility of explaining himself to the Rough Skull. Then, he saw the older male was holding an instrument with what looked like a hypodermic needle attached to it and he guessed that Halkrath was not really interested in what he was doing.

"Nothing." He said again, "What do you want?"

"I want another sample from you." The scientist said, as if they were merely carrying on an earlier conversation, "A blood sample. My research is at a critical stage and I need more."

"Your research," Selim started back, but then remembering the pact he had made with this creature, "Tell me about it," He said, "Before I give up any more of my blood or tissue, I want to know what you are looking for."

Halkrath's eyes widened, "I told you about my work. I need to study your hybridised biology."

"Yes, but why?"

"To find a cure for the pestilence." Halkrath said.

Selim felt the response came a little too promptly, but a promise was a promise, 'I gave him my word…'

"Take it." He sighed, proffering his arm, "But, why do you care about fighting the contagion, anyway? You have left the clan – would they not put you to death if they caught you."

A slight frown drew the scientist's brows together as he probed for a vein, "It is my duty. In the clan or out of it. It is the same."

"But why?"

"Your Father would understand. Your Mother would. They are Rough Skulls. I am a Rough Skull."

Selim's own brow wrinkled at this, 'Both Mei'Savir and Mei'Varsi left the clan behind more than ten solar cycles ago and neither of them ever talk about it much." He watched Halkrath slide the needle smoothly into his vein, but he barely felt it, 'Perhaps they did miss it and just did not tell us.' He thought, 'It seems there are many secrets they have kept from us.'

"But why did you help us escape?" He asked aloud, "Knowing they would put you to death if they caught you?"

"Nar'Jat does not understand how valuable you are." Halkrath's voice was low but there was a tremor underneath it, "You are of far greater worth alive than you are dead."

"Even if we are abominations… a crime against nature?"

Halkrath shrugged, "Such concepts are meaningless. All lifeforms must adapt and change. They become more successful only through mutation; why should yautja be any different? Perhaps you and your… brother are genetic oddities… or perhaps you are the next stage."

Selim tried to feel reassured by this but he could not help the pang of unease that fluttered against his solar plexus as the scientist held up the ampoules of blood between his talons, the iridescent liquid turning from red to green where the light struck, "Whether I find the key to a cure to the contagion or unlock other mysteries… what greater reward could Nar'Jat offer me than these?"

Scar backed up further towards the edge of the platform. The wounded female was on the ground, struggling to rise. The Queen turned, her glowing hide illuminating the stinking fog as she stalked slowly towards him. He did not think her lack of speed from caution, 'She is no ordinary Queen – she is enjoying the moment of her revenge. But even if she has come to collect my soul, I will not give in without a fight!"

He extended his dah'kte, bellowing a challenge, mandibles splayed. She answered him with her own rage, jaws yawning wide to show a forest of razorblades.

She lashed out with one long arm and he leapt backwards, heart racing "I must not let her get a grip on me!'

At that moment, there was a blur of movement and the Queen screamed as the wounded female plunged her own spear down between her ribs. With a cry like an inferno of rabid devils, she wheeled and seized the Rough Skull with one monstrous hand, wrapping the long bony fingers of her other hand around her victim's throat. Before Scar could move, there was a horrible gargle and a rending of gristle and the Queen tore the female's head from her shoulders, a gush of vivid green pumping violently from the ruin of her neck. Dropping the still-twitching body, the Matriarch turned slowly to look at Scar.

His gaze flitted around him; the two spears still sticking from the hard meat's thorax; the dead female's weapons attached to the wreck of her body. He flashed a split-second glance behind him; there was only the ship – horribly exposed – perched on the edge of the parapet at the far side of the platform and behind it, a long drop into the toxic swamp. He began to move away from the craft, edging further back. The hard meat's head weaved from side to side like a snake, as if reading his thoughts.

'The plasma cannon and the wrist blades will not be enough to kill her… there is no way I can arm myself… but I must lure her away from the ship!'

Without meaning to, his gaze flashed back again to the shuttle and immediately her long head turned towards it, with a hiss that sounded horribly like the sound of understanding.

"No! Fight me!" He roared at her, "Come and face me!"

She looked at him, then her head turned towards the ship again, almost as if she knew what he was trying to do.

Desperate to attract her attention, he leapt up onto the barrier at the edge of the platform. He could feel the sucking downdraft from the drop behind him, the chemical stink of the swamp filling his scent ducts. 'I must lure her over the edge. Even if the fall does not kill her she will be away from the ship!'

"I killed your children!" He bawled, unsheathing his dah'kte, "Come to me, you soul-eating bitch!"

She screamed and charged, his heart thundering in his chest as she crashed towards him, long head lowered, obscene jaws trailing spittle. At the last second, he jumped, feet thudding for a split second against her backbone, too fast for her to retaliate, launching himself over her back and landing on the floor beyond. With a crash she burst through the barrier, slithering over the edge, tail flailing like a bony whiplash.

There was a crack; the Queen's claws sinking into the stones of the parapet to halt her fall. Scar edged backwards as she pulled herself up, mist curling off her shimmering sides like the steam of pure hatred.

He feinted to the left but she moved to intercept him, so he dodged right, trying to get around her, to get back to the tunnel or the ship. Immediately she lurched to block his path, her tail slashing down, striking the ground in front of him like lightning and sending up chips of stone, the breath rasping in her throat.

'She is doing exactly what I would do; mirroring the prey's movements, cutting off any escape.'

She came closer, penning him against the side of the Pyramid and now he could feel the killing mist descending on him, as thick as the noisome fog of the swamp, suffocating rational thought, choking him with wrath. Her jaws spread wider as she lowered her head, coiling ready for the attack. Then she charged towards him, unstoppable as death itself and Scar tensed, ready to meet the pulverising force of her jaws and talons, everything becoming very simple; all other options but death stripping away.

He brought the dah'kte up to ward off those terrible claws, shearing off the fingers of one hand but with the other hand she seized him, pinning him against the side of the Pyramid. As he howled into her deadly smile, a noise cut through the red storm-clouds of rage: the sound of the ship's engines…

Isaac re-entered the cockpit, scowling to find Rika still there when he had hoped to be alone. He had gone in search of Selim and found that, for some unfathomable reason, his brother had allowed Varrik to sleep in their room. Selim was not to be found – he must have had gone into S'Kia's chamber. Isaac had not been inside what had been his parents' room since the hunter had taken them away and even now, knowing S'Kia was not here, he did not care to enter that dark chamber. The feelings it stirred up were too raw and too distressing.

Halkrath had disappeared into Spyrro's sleeping pod along with his equipment – whether to sleep or to work, Isaac was not sure. He was irritated at Selim for giving away their room so, since he had nowhere to sleep, he occupied himself with searching for a suitable planetoid to land and consider their next move.

He was muttering to himself under his breath, when something caused him to look up. Rika had been so still and quiet, Isaac had almost forgotten he was not alone, but now he realised the hunter was watching him.

"You remind me of your father."

Isaac bent back to his work with a scowl, "You do not… know me."

"But I know him."

"I am not like… him!"

"You have his temper."

Isaac opened his mouth, but then he thought a furious denial would merely confirm Rika's observation. The hunter's jaws were bent into a faint smirk, so Isaac clenched his teeth and turned back to the console, "I do not know… how my Mother can… stand him. He does not… deserve her."

Rika said nothing, but Isaac knew the hunter was watching. He turned, quick to defend himself, struggling to find the words in his rage, "You all… think that he is such a… great warrior. Well, I … hate him. He does not… care about us. He… never listens!"

The older male's expression did not change, "You are right. S'Kia does not like being told what he must do. He used to drive R'Zuul into a frenzy."

"R'Zuul," Isaac's curiosity got the better of his anger, "Was that his father?"

"No. He was our combat master. Our captain. He was savage; it was not wise to cross him." Rika's jaw spread in a grim smile, "He had the training of me from when I was four… but he had for S'Kia longer. We were the same age, but when I met him, he had already been with R'Zuul two years."

"He began training when he was… two?"

"Yes. His brothers were older but he was sent to R'Zuul at the same time as them. Many sent so young do not live, but S'Kia is stubborn, and he often crossed R'Zuul. Often, R'Zuul beat him bloody. Broke his jaws, fractured his skull, cracked his ribs." Rika's voice was low and calm, "He was fortunate."

"Fortunate?!" Isaac stared at the Rough Skull, eyes bulging.

"He survived." Rika continued, "And R'Zuul favoured him. Made him his lieutenant."

Isaac could not look away from the hunter, but he was only half listening. He was thinking about what it must be like to have your bones broken; to hear your own skull crack; it sent a shiver running all through him.

In his mind, he saw yellow eyes above a lazy grin, 'Think you can take me, boy?'

Isaac frowned and the picture in his head flickered, as if viewed on a malfunctioning screen; one moment, an invincible, grinning bully and the next...

Slowly, he raised a hand to rub the back of his skull. Then, he grimaced and shook his head, bending back to the console once more.

The engine gauge crept slowly up and up. Lex risked a split-second, backward glance; the female had not moved from where Lex had left her, arms and legs now bound by the same metal restraints that had been used on Scar and herself, 'Still unconscious – thank God.'

On the viewscreen the Queen seized Scar in one gargantuan claw, bringing his face up close to her jaws. Lex's eyes slammed wide in horror. Spurred on by panic, she flipped the switch, seized the controls and hauled on the steering column. There was a deafening roar of the thrusters igniting and the ship lifted off. On the screen, the Queen turned towards the noise of the engines, still gripping Scar in one gigantic hand, his skin showing pale under the crushing pressure of those fleshless fingers, fighting to breathe, fighting to prise them from his throat.

Ignoring the tearing pain in her chest, she dragged the steering column to one side, swinging the ship around to hover over the swamp, facing the platform, flipping the switch to engage the ship's guns and bring up the targeting system. The Queen spun, tracking the vessel, dragging Scar with her. He struggled and thrashed, trying to break free of her deathly grip. Immediately the gunsights locked onto her, detecting a hostile lifeform, but Lex's finger hesitated on the trigger 'I have to make her let go, but if her blood gets on him he's dead anyway!'

Breathing hard, throat trying to close up, she swung the targeting crosshairs downwards and pulled the trigger, spattering the ground at the Queen's feet with plasma. Instantly, the hard meat spun to face the ship's cannons and in the same moment Scar lashed out with the dah'kte, slashing at the claw gripping his throat, striking a slashing blow that half severed the bony wrist. With a scream of fury, she dropped him, spewing acid from her wounded limb, droplets splashing across his chest. Hitting the ground and staggering upright, Scar wrenched the dissolving breastplate off, hurling it aside, while the Queen shrieked and thrashed.

Cold sweat popped out on Lex's skin like frost, sliding down her back, making her hands slippery. She fought to bring the shuttle level with the platform, heedless of the risk from the Queen's flailing claws, the effort of holding it steady sending sickness through her in dizzying surges.

Scar took off towards the edge, fleeing from Queen's incandescent rage. The hard meat wheeled to block his path but he dived between her legs, her jaws snapping above his head, her talons slicing bloody track-marks down his back. He hit the floor on all fours, rebounding like a cat, vaulting onto the barrier and launching himself into space in a desperate leap for the ship.

He hit the wing, winding himself, talons slithering on a surface slick with toxic condensation. Feeling the ship already starting to turn, he drew back one arm – feverish with adrenalin – and punched his one remaining set of dah'kte into the ship's hull, knowing failure would throw him to his death. He felt the blades bite but the relief lasted less than a split second.

At that moment, the Queen gave a terrible scream and plunged after him, throwing herself from the precipice. Shards of horror went shooting through him as she soared across the void. In a second the yautja craft opened fire, lighting up the night with every gun the ship had. The burning plasma struck the hard meat mid-leap, the gunfire tearing at her, ripping out chunks of flesh and shattering bone. There was an explosion of acid, shimmering droplets blown backwards in a deadly hail of corrosion, but it wasn't enough to halt the Queen's flight.

She hit the ship, giant talons scoring grooves in the metal. The vessel lurched under her weight, the sound of the turbines rising to a desperate shriek. Scar hung on, the jarring impact causing the blades to jolt free, talons scrabbling as he swung over the deadly drop into toxic water. His flesh was burning where he had been spattered with the Queen's blood, but he blocked out the pain. Wild updrafts howled from the drop, tearing at him and forcing him to cling on harder, knuckles white, claws scraping the metal, the drone of the engines intensifying as they laboured under the Queen's weight.

The ship shuddered beneath him, as if from turbulence, while the engines struggled to compensate for the extra strain, stabilising and then struggling again as the vessel fought for altitude. He managed to regain his hold, limbs splayed on polished metal. She was still trying to get to him without losing her grip on the craft, her corrosive blood steaming where it touched the hull but unable to penetrate all the way through the acid-resistant, yautja alloy. She had lost one hand and the fingers of another to his dah'kte; her two mangled forearms now scrabbling useless, but she still had one of her vast, clutching hands unscathed. She hung onto the armoured exterior like a giant spider, tail curling into the exhaust vents to strengthen her hold.

Scar's eyes widened, 'If we do not destroy her, she will bring this ship down!'

Teeth gritted against the pain of the burns, he clambered towards her, using his one remaining set of dah'kte to anchor himself. Edging closer to where her claws gripped the hull, trying to stay out of range while she hissed her hatred at him across the body of the vessel, 'I must strike quickly or she will drag me down with her!'

The engines suddenly burst into life, the white-hot roar lit up the stinking night as the main thrusters fired. An eruption of blinding brightness exploded around the Queen's torso. The ship lurched forward and she screamed, the infernal heat of the engine exhaust sleeting over her wounded body, blasting a deadly rain of her acid blood backwards against the blank, black face of the Pyramid. Clouds of acid fog billowed into the night sky but, even as her lower body burned under the searing, white-hot onslaught, her claws still gripped the body of the ship.

On fire with adrenalin, Scar yanked the dah'kte free, clinging with his talons. Time slowed to a crawl as he lifted the blades and swung, bringing them down on her wrist with a crunch of chitin and bone, turning his head away to shield his face as droplets of acid spattered him, clenching his jaws at the bite of that blistering pain. A terrible cry escaped the Queen; an unearthly shriek of vengeance denied. Her maimed hands lost their hold, trailing caustic blood from their ruined stumps, leaving her squealing and lashing her limbs uselessly against the uncaring metal.

Then she fell, blasted backwards by the bludgeoning power of the engines, plunging down and down until the hot, hungry darkness swallowed her up.

Hope everyone is having a great summer. I've been in a house in the middle of the countryside with no internet in the middle of a heatwave (feel so lethargic) so I'm a bit late updating this!

lexia the beautiful wolf – Hope this chapter makes up for the short chapter last time!

LovyDovy7: Yeah, Lex had a good go at it last chapter. This time, it's Scar's turn to get his fight on. Selim and Isaac are both on a bit of a journey to try and come to terms with the different sides of their nature – and Spyrro too. All three of them have different challenges to face. Realising their parents are not invincible gods or evil tyrants is a part of that.

.Queen: Hello from summer to winter - always get a kick out of hearing from other parts of the world. Glad you're enjoying the story and hope you keep on enjoying it. I feel like it's still got a way to go.