2 Mouths of Madness Pt2

The room was filled with activity as Yautja and Myrmidons were on the verge of ripping each other's throats out. Vlad, Sasha and Baako were back to 100%, the Rookie stood with his pulse rifle at the ready and Han stood nearby with his left arm in a sling, Ramirez was being watched over by Sophie, Blair and one of the 3 Dark Blades alongside Yeyinde.

Meanwhile Zen'tau was flanked by at 5 of his 10 remaining Hunters, the other half of which watched over his recovering Nephew.

Eli and Rezeal stood between the Yautja and the Myrmidons, if things broke out in a fight, then the Myrmidons would surely loose in their weakened state…but not before taking more than half of the Yautja down with them.

"I'LL RIP HIM TO PIECES!" Roared the Elder at the top of his lungs as he scrambled to Erik in a furious rage, only for Rezeal and the two Dark Blades to hold him back.

Erik remained straight faced, all his weapons on his person and his helmet under his arm. He understood Zen'tau's anger, he could tell that the Elder loved his niece by the way he reacted. He thought it best to let him vent and get it out of his system.

"LET GO OF ME! ILL RIP HIS PAUKING HEAD OFF!" Zen'tau screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to pry the Kamad and the two Dark Blades off of him.

"Calm down my lord" one of the Dark Blades strained to say.

"You let them take her!? You let those THINGS take her away to be birthed!?" Zen'tau roared.

"I didn't know they were there" Erik replied calmly.

"Of course you wouldn't! You are just a Pauking Ooman! A Yautja wouldn't have made that mistake! And because of it those things are going to kill her!" Zen'tau snarled in rage.

"Calm down Zen'tau" Rezeal retorted, keeping a firm grip on one of the Elder's arms.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Lizard! You Pauking Kamads haven't done anything but push me and my kin around since you showed your scaly hides, if not for your Pauking tails you would rather look like these Ooman shits!" Zen'tau lashed out violently at Rezeal and Eli.

Everyone expected Erik to calmly asses and sort out the situation while Zen'tau screamed and shouted. But they didn't expect what happened next.

"It's not his fault Dammit!" Eli snarled at the Elder, surprising everyone. Eli had acted with a sense of authority in front of the Yautja when they first met, shortly afterwards he became Passive and didn't interact due to their lack of respect or confidence to him, but after the Xenomorphs had taken Norma he had a shortage of patience or understanding.

Kamads tended to let their bestial and predatory nature get the best of them when the ones they cared about were in danger.

"Erik didn't know that there were Xenomorphs in the Vents, even I couldn't smell them. There was nothing he could do and by the time they were on us it was too late. Now Erik, Myself and anyone else that is willing will go into that fucking hellhole and get Sha'ra and Norma back…now unless you have something valuable to contribute, shut your fucking mouth and stay out of the fucking way" Eli snarled at the Elder.

"Tough talk, coming from an Arrogant royal brat being protected by two dark blades and his personal lap dog" Zen'tau growled back.

Eli furrowed his brow and pulled the two Dark Blades away from the Elder. Eli pushed Rezeal aside, leaving no-one between him and Zen'tau. The Elder was surprised at this action, he half expected the Prince to let the Oomans do the talking as he had done up to this point.

"I am sick and fucking tired of you are your hierarchal Yautja superiority bullshit! Ever since I've gotten here I've gotten nothing but shit from you and your people, all because I'm a Prince, Well guess what? In this moment I'm not a Prince, I'm not a royal and I'm not some non Yautja here to tell you what to do…. In this moment I am a pissed off Kamad that wants to rescue someone he cares about….and right now you are wasting our fucking time" Eli growled, eerily patient, letting each and every word he said pour in.

"So unless the next words that come pouring out of your cunt mouth are helpful…. I will show you exactly what an Angry Kamad is capable of doing" Eli said, baring his teeth before pulling up his red bandana.

Zen'tau stood perfectly still.

The tension that Eli had just set had everyone on edge.

All the Yautja were stunned at what the Kamad said to their leader.

The Myrmidons and Rezeal were ready to leap to Eli's defence at a moment's notice.

But what happened next surprised them.

"You have guts…. talking to me like that…. I half expected you to let the Oomans defend you. I suppose you Kamads really are as fearless as you claim. Then I'm coming with you" Zen'Tau replied, regaining his composure.

"Are you sure that's a good idea My Lord?" one of the dark blades asked.

"You are the leader of your people Zen'tau, if you die on this mission then they won't have a leader" Erik replied.

"You are the leader of your people, and the Prince is the leader of his, yet you are both going" Zen'tau replied.

"I know Xenomorphs better than anyone here, and we will have to rely on Eli to track Norma and Sha'ra's scent amongst the hive. Besides, I trust Baako to represent and authorize the Myrmidons in my absence" Erik replied.

"I will not let my Niece be impregnated by those….things" Zen'tau's teeth gritted.

"Neither will we, but we cannot all go into the hive, a lot of our number will have to stay behind and we need you to stop the other Yautja from skinning anyone else alive" Erik replied calmly.

"Stay behind? Why? Don't we have a better chance if there are more of us?" The Rookie asked

"Rookie, how many Myrmidons are there on this ship?" Erik asked.

"Uh, 7 of us"

"Why 7? Why not 10 or 20 or 30? Why do you think we Myrmidons are composed of small squads?" Erik asked.

The Rookie stood silent.

"Because if you go into a Hive with too many men, you may as well be ringing the fucking dinner bell. Large groups draw Xenomorphs like nothing else, they just love to ambush large groups and start a panic…why do you think their hives are so narrow and long? To pack their prey into a tight spot like sardines and take them out without any trouble. there were a lot of marines at Hadley's hope….and all but 1 died" Erik explained to the rookie, effectively shutting him up.

"Erik, Vlad, Sasha and I will go into the Hive…and I swear to you that we will bring Sha'ra back…I swear on my bloodline that we will bring her back or die trying" Eli put his hand on the Elder's shoulder.

Zen'tau understood exactly what the Kamad and the Myrmidon were saying, Xenomorph hives were easier to manoeuvre with a small group, large groups only served to draw more Xenos to your presence. But Zen'tau didn't want to be seen as a coward, he was a prideful Elder and he didn't want to sully his honour as an Uncle and a Yautja by standing around while other races saved his niece.

"My Lord…we will go with them if you please" two of the Dark Blades announced to the Elder in Yautja.

"I do not want others fighting my battles for me, I am an Elder not some coward!" Zen'tau replied.

"We respect you my lord…please…I almost killed one of the Oomans in the battle…let me clear our name to them by proving myself" the Dark Blade, Cin'Tyr replied.

The Dark Blades were Cin'Tyr, the female Dark Bade that had fought Sasha in the previous battle and Va'Tan, the Dark Blade Yautja that had nearly killed Han and got clocked by Eli as a result of it. The concept made sense to Zen'tau, the Dark Blades were a proud clan and redeeming his name to their temporary allies was a very Dark Blade thing to do.

"Very well" Zen'tau nodded before switching back to English "Cin'Tyr and Va'Tan will accompany you four. You can't expect the Kamads and the Oomans to do all the work while the Yautja sit on their arses can you?" Zen'tau smirked.

"A group of six….not too big, but not too small. Shouldn't be much of a problem" Sasha smirked.

"Let's move out, we haven't got time to waste" Erik announced.

Rezeal went over to Eli and placed a black gauntleted hand on his shoulder "Are you sure you want to go this alone? A Hive can be a dangerous place" Rezeal spoke with a hint of concern in his native tongue of Kamad.

"Rez…I'm the better fighter of the two of us, I can handle a simple Xenomorph hive. Besides, I need you to keep an eye on things when I'm gone, make sure the Yautja and Myrmidons don't kill each other…but…keep a close eye on Blair, I don't trust the fucker" Eli replied in Kamad.

"I can do that. But are you sure you will be alright…I understand you don't want Norma to get hurt, but getting yourself killed won't help anything" Rezeal replied.

"I have to Rez, she trusted me to defend her, to keep her safe, I was too late to keep her safe once…I won't do it again" Eli replied with a serious tone. He was filled with determination to get her back, especially after letting the Xenos take her away. It took an insane of patience for him not to immediately bolt after the Xenos once they took her.

"You….really want to go through with this?" Rezeal asked.

Even though Kamads were strong and dangerous in their own right, a Xenomorph hive was still a danger zone for them, especially since Kamads had a tendency to let their opponents get dangerously close. Then again a Xenomorph wasn't immune to a Kamad steel blade.

"I will get her back if I have to slaughter every bug in that hive" Eli replied without an ounce of doubt in his voice.

Rezeal was impressed. It wasn't usual that Eli would take such a liking to someone, to the point where he would risk death to save them. yes, he had given Norma his blood, but to a Kamad it wasn't that uncommon to give blood to save a life, but for a Kamad to risk certain death in a xenomorph hive? Eli must have really taken a liking to her,

"You got it. Just don't get yourself killed out there alright?" Rezeal held out a closed fist.

Eli fist bumped Rezeal "Likewise my friend" he smiled.

Erik walked over to Zen'tau, he needed to speak to the Elder before he left. He needed to clear some things up.

"I trust that you and your people won't cause any trouble for mine while we are gone" Erik spoke confidently.

"You are going to rescue my Niece, while your people care for my wounded Nephew and you trust me even though you have reason to….if I betrayed your trust I would be no better than the creatures that took her….I swear to you by all the gods in the heavens…I will keep your men safe" Zen'tau gave the Myrmidon a promise.

"And I give you my word as a Myrmidon, that I will bring Sha'ra back" Erik spoke back. The Major put on his helmet and began to leave until the Elder put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sha'ra spoke fondly of you…Erik. She told me that you were an honourable warrior, I doubted her, I thought you were just like the Oomans I fought in the war and that she was just seeing something that wasn't there…Prove me wrong" Zen'tau sighed.

Erik smirked before his helmet's faceplate clamped down and his visor lit up "I'll bring her back…I swear" Erik said before he shouldered his pulse rifle and followed the others down the hallway.

Erik was a man of his word, he would return with Sha'ra…or not at all.


"Ok…this is officially one of the worst ideas I have ever had" Grey said as he shimmied through the tight narrow corridor.

"I Second that" the young Black Yautja behind him agreed.

Grey's brightest idea to get out of the reach of the Black Yautja may not have been the best one he had, but it was all they had. Crawling through the ventilation shafts of the Asclepheus was not a 100% fullproof plan, but it was leagues better than fighting off a thousand or so Black Yautja Hunters and risk getting killed in the process, or worse.

Azarov, Na'Yal and Grey had been crawling through the shafts for hours and were making as much progress as they possibly could. Sure it was a living hell having air blast in your face and the cramped space was a living hell for a full grown human, let alone a small Black Yautja, but it was better than having your spine ripped out.

Azarov was first in line, then Grey and then Na'Yal, the bastard son of Ma'Zax. It was hard to convince the young Black Yautja to accompany them on their escape, but it was very likely that his kin had learned of his betrayal and it was much safer with Grey and Azarov rather than with the other Black Yautja.

Both Captains were surprised by the young Black Yautja's behaviour when compared to Ma'Zax and Tra'Kan. Na'Yal was shy, passive and very timid, the complete polar opposite of someone like Tra'Kan who was a blood hungry sadist. So Grey and Azrov as strong minded and strong willed individuals tried to be as compassionate to the young Yautja as much as they could.

"Hopefully it won't take us long to reach the Myrmidons, or at least an escape pod that hasn't been launched yet" Azarov spoke quietly as not to cause too much noise, there was no telling if there were any Black Yautja out on patrol below them in the halls.

"I doubt it, my father ordered that if any escape pods are launched, that the warships will vaporize them on sight" Na'Yal replied.

"Fuck…are there any ships or something else we can use to escape?" Grey asked the young Yautja, whom probably had the best knowledge of the situation among them.

"The only ships beside the Newton and the Quatermaine are the ships that the Kamads and the Myrmidons came on. The Kamad ship….none of us have any idea how it would operate, only the Kamads could possibly know. The Myrmidon ship on the other hand….we have no idea where it is, so trying to find it by chance would be nearly impossible" Azarov replied in a hushed voice.

"Let's just concentrate on getting as many miles between us and Ma'Zax as much as possible" Grey whispered back as he shimmied through the vents.

"I second that" Na'Yal replied.

"Don't be a kiss ass" Grey chuckled.


The Myrmidons, the Kamads and the Yautja were all tough and powerful beings, they shared that much in common. The Myrmidons carried the strength of humankind as they took on the names and armour of the Greek warriors of old, The Kamads had been a warrior race for as long as their recorded history went back, strength, honour and war were a part of them as much as their tails or mandible lower jaws. And the Yautja, it went without saying that they were a proud bunch, with a history of deadly and legendary warriors, some of whom passed into legends and attaining the status of a god.

That being said, there were some sights that shook even the most battle hardened warrior.

The Opening to a Xenomorph hive was one such sight.

"That right there is never a pretty sight" Vlad sighed as he shouldered his minigun.

"Just one thing I think we should know Erik….the fuck were those two Xenos that took Norma and Sha'ra? Do we have anything to worry about?" Eli asked.

Erik almost cringed at that question. Explaining those things to someone was never easy, it reminded him and as much as any other Myrmidon, what would happen if they fell into the Clutches of the Xenos. But it was better to warn his allies of their foes rather than let them suffer a painful death.

"Those two Xenomorphs that took Norma and Sha'ra, they were what happens to Myrmidons that birth Xenomorphs. They are strong, fast, agile and intelligent, more so than regular Xenos…and whats worse is that they remember all their training as Myrmidons" Erik replied.

Vlad obviously knew exactly what Erik was referring to, he had faced such horrors alongside the Major and had scars to prove it. Sasha had never encountered one of the Xeno-Myrmidons, in that regard she felt lucky, she had heard of the horrors they could inflict from Vlad, Erik and Baako.

In the eyes of the Myrmidons, Xeno-Myrmidons were the worst possible outcome. They not only reminded the Myrmidons that they were no longer humans, but they also reminded them that in some ways they were monsters just waiting to be born.

"Glad you said now….rather than later" Cin'Tyr replied before clasping her mask over her face with a hiss.

"Just whatever you do, try not to get isolated in a one on one fight. They thrive on cutting groups apart and killing them off one by one" Erik advised.

"The Fuckers can try" Eli spoke up as he unsheathed one of his Katanas and gave it a wide flourish.

"Fucking A" Sasha cocked her shotgun.

Eli had managed to find the nearest opening to the hive by following Sha'ra and Norma's scent through the air vents that the Xenomorphs had attacked them from. It wasn't hard to find considering that Eli's sense of smell was 10 times greater than that of a trained Bloodhound.

Eli, Erik, Vlad, Va'Tan, Sasha and Cin'Tyr entered the opening in two by two formation, Eli and Erik first, followed by Vlad and Va'Tan, followed by Sasha and Cin'Tyr. Going into a Xenomorph Hive single file was almost always a bad idea, you pretty much thinned out your ranks to work to the Xenomorph's advantage. Besides if you had anyone standing beside you, you had someone ready to help immediately on hand.

As every one of the party stepped through the tunnels, it wasn't long until they began to step on the slime covered resin that one could only find in the tunnels of a Xenomorph hive. The squelching of the slime underneath their boots filled the air as they stepped through the hive.

"Never ceases to disgust does it?" Vlad asked Va'Tan as Va'Tan looked at the slime that had stuck to his feet.

"Sooner we leave…. happier I will be" Va'Tan replied in broken English.

"I wish I only had to worry about slimy boots….the smell of xenomorph slime is fucking putrid" Eli said as he tried his best to follow the scent of Sha'ra and Norma.

The group followed the trail with haste, Eli's nasal glands must have been hardwired by evolution to find the slightest hints of certain scents masked by other odours. It made sense for Kamads to have the smelling capabilities that they had, evolving on an arctic planet must have done a number on their tracking abilities as Blizzards, snowstorms and icy winds wouldn't leave much in terms of tracks.

The squelching of slime and mushy resin underneath metal boots filled the hallways, as did the clanking of metal lined dreadlocks against armour and equipment rattling against the wearers. The metallic plates of armour clanked against each other and the loud sniffing of the Kamad prince filled the air.

It seemed as if the hallways of the hive went on forever, then again the Asclepheus was a gargantuan ship and the Xenomorphs had a knack for making their tunnels as elaborate as possible to throw off any prey that stumbled into their lair.

But just thinking about Sha'ra or Norma somewhere in the hive, being plastered onto a wall filled Erik with worry and dread. But then he had a sudden ephiphany, a terrifying thought, Norma wasn't 100% human anymore….if in the horrible outcome that she was impregnated….what the hell would emerge from her chest?

"Eli, what the hell happens if a Kamad is impregnated by a Xenomorph?" Erik asked.

Everyone went silent. Sasha, Vlad and Erik all knew what a Xenomorph birthed of a Yautja, human or Myrmidon could become. Va'Tan and Cin'Tyr knew the same, but only Eli had actually met what a Xenomorph birthed of a Kamad could become.

Anyone who had ever encountered a Xenomorph knew that they usually took on the traits of their hosts. Predaliens had the mandibles and dreadlocks of their hosts, Human born Xenomorphs had human skull structures underneath their featureless Visages.

Kamad born Xenomorphs didn't break that trend unfortunately.

"Let's just hope to whatever god you pray to, that you never have to see that" Eli replied.

"That bad?" Sasha asked.

"Worse than what you could possibly imagine" Eli replied.

The sight of a Kamad born Xenomorph was something that would give even Kamads nightmares. Being a Kamad hybrid, it was possible that if Norma was impregnated by a facehugger, then she would produce one of the abominations that Eli feared.

Then there was the fact that Norma was only half Kamad, her healing ability wasn't perfect when compared to Eli or Rezeal's, so it wasn't a certainty if she could survive the birthing process either.

"One more reason to not waste any time" Erik replied hastily.

The group navigated their way through the slime coated hallways of the Hive, not trying to hide the sounds that their weapons, gear and boots made as they hunted down their quarry. The only worrying factor was that they had not yet encountered a single Xenomorph since entering the hive.

A Hive of this size should have a considerable amount of xenomorphs, if that was the case…..were where they?


"Ugh…oh Paya…..wha…..where?" Sha'ra mumbled as she slowly regained her vision. She felt a sickly feeling deep in the pit of her stomach, her muscles felt numb and unresponsive to her commands and she felt her throat as dry and rough as the bottom of a bird cage.

From what she could tell from her dark and hazy vision was that her surroundings looked and felt moist and warm. She heard hissing and machinery in the distance as well as the nearby sounds of organic sloshing and churning.

Her senses felt scrambled and muddled like they had been thrown in a paint mixer. Her sense of direction was so badly muddled that it was a miracle that she could tell up from down. The Huntress tried to shake her head, to try and regain her senses in order to get some clue as to where she was.

"Oh…look who is awake" a French accented voice said nearby, with a sultry tone.

"Who said that!? Where am I?" Sha'ra demanded. Her vision and memory both fuzzy as all hell.

"Ah, and you speak English…that makes things much easier" the voice replied.

The dark blotches in front of Sha'ra began to get clearer and clearer.

Unfortunately, when she regained her vision she wished that she hadn't.

She was in the heart of a Xenomorph hive, she was surrounded by the hardened resin that the Xenomorphs coated their homes in. Her arms and legs were encased in the resin, rendering her immobile and unable to move.

Immediately to her right was Norma, still unconscious and encased in the wall in the same way as she was. Sha'ra was a Yautja and Norma was a Hybrid, both of them were immensely stronger than the usual prey that Xenomorph's took, but it felt like they went overboard with the resin this time, to compensate for their prey's strength.

Sat on a large pile of resin in front of her however was…. something she had never seen before.

It looked like a human female, with shoulder length blonde hair and pale white skin. but she did not look like a regular human, this was due to the black pieces of xenomorph carapace covering her body. Her hands were clawed like a Xenomorph's, her feet were taloned like a Xenomorphs, she even had the tail to complete the package.

Even the few human features she had left, like her hair looked as if they were being gradually taken over by the Xenomorph parts. Even her blonde hair was black at the tips, and her eyes were blackening as the outlines. From the grin she had on her face, Sha'ra could tell her teeth were turning into fangs, like those of a Xenomorph.

"What the hell are you?" Sha'ra asked.

"Right to the point? I like that…I suppose you could say I'm their mother…or their grandmother…It doesn't matter either way. What matters is that you are finally awake, and we can talk" she replied with a smirk.

"I can think of one question already…why aren't I dead yet? I don't see any dead face huggers, so I can only assume I don't have one of your ilk inside me" Sha'ra replied cautiously.

"Hehehe, assume? You assume a lot, what makes you think one of my children isn't already nestled in your guts, nice and cosy?" the creature asked with the same smirk she always had.

"If you wanted me dead I would be dead by now, if you wanted me to get impregnated by one your…..children…then why would you be wasting time with idle chitchat?" Sha'ra retorted.

This creature was not the typical Xenomorph, the one that would impale you with its tail and use your corpse for feeding the next generation. While clever, the typical Xenomorph drone was about at reasonable as a wild dog, driven by instinct. The Warriors were smarter, more like pack wolves than dogs, the more of them there were the more of a threat they were. The higher ups like the Pretorians or Yautja born Xenos were very close to human intelligence, but were still slaves to their base instincts.

This female in front of her however, was acting like a sentient being, showing signs of curiosity, humor, engaging in conversation and showing an individual point of view and personality.

Sha'ra decided to play along instead of dismissing the creature.

The way she had it figured, the longer she kept talking with this thing, the longer it would be until the other Xenos would want to lay their eggs down her throat.

The more time it would give to Eli and Erik to reach her.

"You are a smart one. I half expected you to scream and shout and curse instead of engaging in conversation…I find myself liking you more and more" the creature smiled.

"What's your name?" the creature asked, sitting up straight.

"….Sha'ra" she complied, not wanting to anger the creature that could easily rip her throat out in an instant.

"Sha…..ra?...I like that, it sounds pretty, it suits you" The creature smiled.

"What about you?" Sha'ra asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"…Linda….." Linda introduced herself.

Sha'ra recognised the name as one of Human origin, her hunches weren't wrong on that. This wasn't some amalgamation or new breed of Xeno that looked human, at some point the one that called herself Linda was a human.

That just raised the question of what the fuck she was now.

"So….why am I not dead yet? What use does something like you have for me or my friend?" Sha'ra asked, needing to sate her curiosity.

"Ah….taking the lead now are we? I like that…as for why you aren't dead yet….its quite a simple answer, as you can tell, my children aren't the conversational types…so I relish in the chance to speak to someone, especially another female" Linda replied, standing up and walking up towards the bound Yautja.

"Even though I love my children…It gets unbelievably boring around here, so I had my brothers bring you here alive" Linda replied with a smile.

"Those things….those two big ugly Pauks? Those were your brothers?" Sha'ra asked, trying to get answers in the best way she could. She thanked Paya that she spent all those years of her life learning to speak earth English, they seemed to be coming in very handy right now.

"They may as well be, we share the blood of the hive, and that is more than enough. I would have liked to have one like you become a sister…." Linda smiled a she stroked Sha'ra's cheek.

"…Unfortunatly, you and your allies…..killed my children, my brothers' children….and my brothers and remaining children would love nothing more than to tear you apart, screaming…or to subject you to many…many new births to replace the children you slaughtered…" Linda replied before leaning in even closer.

"…I find that having you alive is necessary…after all…live bait draws in prey like a moth to a flame" Linda smiled as she leaned in dangerously close to Sha'ra.

"You….you are using us as bait?" Sha'ra's eyes widened. Erik, Eli and whoever else would come, would be walking head first into a trap.

"Oh yes, the white haired one, and your friend in the black armour….they will pay tenfold for what they did. They will pay us back in blood and flesh, as will you when they are dead" Linda smiled, dragging her clawed finger across Sha'ra's exposed abdomen.

"I expect some very strong sons or daughters from you" Linda smiled as she cupped Sha'ra's face in her claws.

"I wouldn't count on it" Sha'ra growled back.

"We'll see" Linda smiled.


Glowing green blood had a bright contrast against the black resin of the Hive. The appearence of Yautja blood had always been a strong one, it was every tracker's dream, Yautja blood was hard to miss when you knew what you were looking for, especially in the dark environment of a Xenomorph Hive.

Eli knelt down and dipped his fingers in the small puddle of Yautja blood. Raising his armoured fingers to his wide open Mandibles, Eli took a long sniff, trying to get as much from the smell of the blood as he could.

The group had halted in order for Eli to refresh his bearings and get a read on where Sha'ra and Norma had been taken. The scent was beginning to wear thinner and thinner the deeper they got into the hive, as the strong odour of Xenomorph slime and resin began to overpower the scent of Yautja. At this point a Bloodhound would be completely lost as to where the tracks were, but Eli's nose was keener than that of any bloodhound.

"Well?" Erik asked.

"…Yautja…. Female, not too long ago, still warm and fresh, they had to have stopped here for a few minutes for the blood to pool like this. Why the hell would xenos stop?" Eli asked.

"I don't know…any signs of a struggle?" Erik asked.

"Not that I can see, then again it is difficult trying to decipher any signs of movement in Xenomorph resin, tracking works best when you understand the natural lay of the land, Hives on the other hand are built to stop that" Eli replied, rubbing Sha'ra's blood between his fingers, trying to get any additional info that he could.

"So, do we keep following the tracks?" Vlad asked.

"Of course we do, we cannot afford to waste any more time" Erik replied strongly.

"We could be heading into a trap. This nest is way too large for some moderately sized hive, the more Xenomorphs there are, the sharper and more intelligent they are" Eli replied, still examining the blood.

"Be that as it may…we are on a time limit. This isn't some standard bug hunt, I cannot afford to lose Sha'ra, and I can tell you can't afford to lose Norma" Erik whispered to Eli.

The Kamad prince made eye contact with Erik, through the red visor of his Myrmidon helmet. Eli rose to his feet shaking off Sha'ra blood from his fingers and wrapping his hand around the hilt of his katana.

"You are nervous?" Eli whispered, as if already knowing the answer.

"What?"

"You sound nervous…you can't afford to lose your cool here, you know this" Eli whispered back.

"You haven't seen what a Xeno-Myrmidon is capable of…if you had, you would be nervous too" Erik replied.

"I'm not green Erik, I've seen things from your worst nightmares" Eli responded just as serious as Erik.

"Not like these Eli….not like these" Erik replied.

Eli and Erik kept each other's gaze before Eli suddenly perked up. His eyes darted around, his nostrils going haywire, he smelt something, a shift in the air.

A shift in the air only meant one thing

Movement.

"Eli?" Erik asked, as the Kamad's behaviour became erratic.

"They're coming!" Eli growled as he unsheathed one of his Katanas. His helmet emerging from his armour and encasing his head, the visor flashing white as it powered up.

"Close Quarters! Two by two back to back formation! One ranged one Melee!" Erik shouted as he and Eli went back to back.

Vlad and Va'Tan went back to back as did Sasha and Cin'Tyr. This was a very well used Myrmidon tactic, one Myrmidon would concentrate on ranged fire while the other dealt with close quarters, only in this case the Yautja and Eli had melee covered while the Myrmidons concentrated on what they did best.

Eli double handed his Katana, Erik had his Pulse rifle at the ready.

"Vlad, you getting anything?" Erik called out, keeping his eyes trained on the iron sights of his pulse rifle.

"Net, nothing, I can't get a read on them" Vlad replied, his minigun already rotating in preparation for opening fire.

"It's the goddam hive…. too many tunnels…motion detectors don't take multiple floors and routes into account. They could be right above us and we wouldn't know" Sasha replied, cocking her shotgun, popping a shell.

"Stay frosty, they could be anywhere" Erik ordered.

Cin'Tyr and Va'Tan readied their plasmacasters and set them to autotarget. They wouldn't be as accurate but accuracy wasn't going to be much of a factor in such a small area.

Suddenly a black clawed hand burst from the floor and grabbed onto Eli's leg, within a few seconds the ground was being ripped to shreds by clawed hands, tails and pointed snouts.

"DIGGERS!" Erik shouted, pointing his pulse rifle to the floor and firing off a few rounds.

Green acidic blood sprayed from floor and the screeches of xenomorphs filled the air as the Yautja, the Myrmidons and Eli began their assault upon the subterranean Xenomorphs that were attacking them from below.

Erik, Vlad and Sasha unloaded pulse rounds into the floor beneath them, practically shredding the Xenomorphs beneath the ground.

Va'Tan and Cin'Tyr fired their plasmacasters at the ground, taking out their combi-sticks to impale a Xenomorph's head with a deadly thrust.

Eli swung his katana, slicing the hand that gripped his foot clean off. The Kamad took his katana in both hands and began reigning down blows into the attackers below. Driving the blade of his katana through the ground, piercing Xenomorph hide, causing their blood to spray all over the place.

Eli turned the floor into a fountain of acidic blood. Stray drops hit the Kamad, but luckily his armour was reformed faster that the small amount of blood that came his way could melt through it.

"Fall back! Draw them out!" Erik shouted over the sound of gunfire and screeching.

Even with the group killing as many Xenos as they did, more and more of the aforementioned 'Diggers' uprooted the floor and ascended into the hallways, revealing themselves in their horrific glory.

The 'Digger' variant of Xenomorphs were usually birthed from subterranean creatures, resulting in them having longer than usual claws, a more streamlined snout and a long drill-like tail. They were very good at creating tunnels to expand the hive, very valuable to the hive and surprisingly deadly.

The first digger screeched and leapt at Eli, only to get an armoured hand wrapped around its throat and a Kamad steel Katana through its gut. The Kamad drove his lodged sword downwards, cleaving the lower part of the Xenomorph's body in two, the creature's shrieking ceased as Eli finished his cut and threw the limb body to the ground.

"FUCK EM UP!" Vlad yelled as he powered up his minigun.

Eli let out a loud and powerful reptilian roar, his helmet adding a synthetic buzz to his declaration of aggression.

Erik, Vlad, Sasha, Cin'Tyr and Va'Tan all opened fire on the Xenomorphs, Plasma Bolts and Pulse rounds shot through the air and made contact with their intended contacts. Green acidic blood sprayed all across the hallway, and bits and pieces of quivering Xeno flesh splattered on the floor. screeches and hisses filled the air, almost as loud as the Whip-crack discharge of the Plasma Casters or the rattle of the Pulse Rifles.

While the Myrmdions and the Yautja fought at range, Eli did what he did best and ran into the Xenomorphs, one handing his Katana, he sliced any Xenos that came at him to pieces, and used his free hand to clobber any that got too close.

The strength of the Kamad was something to behold. Yautja were only slightly weaker than Kamads in terms of strength, but they didn't have the added benefit of not having to worry about restraint when battling Xenos. A Yautja could still loose an arm or a leg to a Xeno's acid blood, but a Kamad could heal back such acidic damage just as quickly as it was made.

Eli grabbed a Xeno by its throat and with a powerful squeeze he broke its neck, the loud crunch echoing could be heard even above all the gunfire. He then grabbed the creature by its tail and used it like a flail, swinging its corpse around as a deadly weapon, the Digger's hardened carapace becoming a weapon against its own kind.

Eli let go of the now dead Digger, throwing it into the ever growing crowd of Xenomorphs that came streaming from the holes in the floor. The Kamad cut down another two Diggers, slicing one in half down the middle and decapitating the other.

Eli was on point with his swordsmanship.

To Vlad and Sasha, it was evident that Eli was a battle hardened sword master, maybe even better than Han or Erik. To an extent they were right, Eli had about 1000 years of experience under his belt, he was no pushover by any definition.

Eli impaled another xenomorph through its stomach, the creature shrieking and screeching at him. Eli then used his free hand to draw a dagger from his belt and drove it through the underside of its head, killing it instantly. Eli kicked the body away before giving both his Katana and newly drawn dagger a quick flourish.

"Who's next?" Eli growled. His battle stance a deadly one if used by a skilled swordsman, his katana ready to slice apart any xenomorph at range, if any got closer he would gut them with the dagger at close range.

This was proven when a Digger leaped at Eli, only to get impaled through the chest before having its belly sliced wide open, its intestines spilling out onto the floor.

"Short controlled bursts!" Erik ordered. The Myrmidons and Yautja now controlling their aim, making sure not to accidently hit Eli. The Kamad wasn't impeding their ability to fight at all, on the contrary, Eli's close quarters assault was providing the perfect chokepoint on the Xenomorphs and their growing numbers.

The tight narrows corridors that were once their strength now became a weakness, all it took was one skilled fighter that wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty to turn the tables. The Xenomorph's number meant nothing if they couldn't utilize them.

The Dark Blades got in close, using their combi-sticks to impale the coming diggers, immobilizing them for either their plasmacasters to finish the job or for one of the Myrmdions to put a bullet through the creature's skulls.

Things looked good.

Until one Xenomorph, different from the other tackled Eli, bypassing his defense and tackling him in the mid-section and slamming him into the floor.

This Xenomorph was not a Digger, nor was it a warrior or a drone.

One of the Xeno-Myrmidons had made an appearance.

The creature straddled Eli, and began clawing at his chest and head armour, rending it asunder. Ripping plates from his chest and head with its razor sharp claws.

The Kamad swung his katana in an attempt to decapitate or cleave the Xeno-Myrmidon in half. But the Xeno-Myrmidon raised its forearm and blocked the attack, the carapace of the creature was so tough around the forearms that it was strong enough to withstand a Kamad Steel blade. Its brought its arm down and locked its grip on the Kamad's arm, rendering his katana wielding arm, useless.

Eli lunged at the creature with his dagger, only for the bladed tail of the creature to impale the Kamad's arm, preventing him from moving any further.

The Xeno-Myrmidon used its free hand, to grab a hold of Eli's Throat and begin to squeeze. The claws of the Xeno-Myrmidon pierced the armour around Eli's neck, causing glowing blue blood to pour from the holes.

Digger Xenomorphs poured from the hive, stampeding towards the Myrmdions and the Yautja as the Xeno-Myrmidon kept Eli down and restrained.

The Xeno-Myrmidon leaned down to Eli's face, opening its dripping maw, revealing its mouth full of rows of serrated teeth. Slowly a secondary mouth slowly emerged, as if to tease Eli with its intentions. This was bad, yes a Kamad would withstand quite a bit of punishment, but a Xenomorph biting a chunk out of his head….it was impossible for a Kamad to recover from a wound as grievous as that.

A Kamad could survive a bullet wound to head, but a wound as large as a Xenomorph bite? That was an instant kill.

Erik aimed down the sights of his pulse rifle, he had to line up an accurate shot, he had to block out any interference and concentrate on his target.

Erik wasn;t the best marksman on Alpha team, but he was pretty dam good.

Inhale

Exhale

Squeeze

*BANG!

And in an instant a titanium cased, explosive tipped pulse shell found its way into the left shoulder of the Xeno-Myrmidon, piercing its armoured carapace, slicing through its tender flesh and making its way out the other end, resulting in a splatter of acidic green and a hiss of pain from the Xeno-Myrmidon. In this split second of agonizing pain, the Xeno-Myrmidon released Eli in order to clutch its own wound.

Eli used this opportunity to backhand the Xeno-Myrmidon, sending the creature flying across the corridor and slamming into the nearest wall. The prince propelled himself off the ground, performing a graceful yet powerful kick up. His armoured boots emitting a loud thud under his weight.

The Kamad let out a mighty roar, shaking his head and causing his dreadlocks to rattle over his already regenerating armour.

The Xeno-Myrmidon screeched back, baring its maw full of teeth and baring its razor sharp claws.

Eli lunged at the Xeno-Myrmidon, attempting to decapitate the creature, but every swing and slash was evaded with almost lightning reflexes and speed. The Xeno-Myrmidon seemed have the combined reflexes of a Myrmdion and a Xenomorph, and that speed was more than a match for the speed of a Kamad like Eli.

Eli managed to land a strike, cutting the Xeno-Myrmdion's arm, slicing into the bicep. The Xeno-Myrmidon screeched in pain, but Eli made one vital mistake:

He turned his back to the other Xenomorphs.

A Digger leapt onto Eli back and began clawing and slashing at the Kamad, rending his armour, but failing to tear his coat. However, it did manage to impale Eli's left shoulder with its tail, slicing through the armour and ripping flesh, glowing blue blood sprayed from the wound freely.

Eli let out a loud roar, reaching back with his free hand to try and grab the Digger that clung to his back. Eli's clawed Gauntlet fingers slashed across the head crest of the Digger, causing the creature to screech out in pain.

Eli swore out loud in Kamad, cursing as his glowing blue blood covered the floor and nearby walls. Still managing to swing and use his katana efficiently to cut down any other diggers that got too close or wanted in on the action.

The Xeno-Myrmidon saw an opening and leapt at Eli, tackling him into a nearby resin wall. The wall however was not the solid structure that everyone expected, it was hollow, more of a curtain of sorts to cut off another tunnel.

The added weight of Eli, the Digger on his back and the Xeno-Myrmidon broke open the resin wall and sent the three of them tumbling down the deep tunnel. Eli snarling and wrestling with the Digger and the Xeno-Myrmidon the entire time, glowing blue blood leaving a trail all the way down.

"ELI! Shit!" Erik cursed as the Xeno-Myrmidon had effectively cut off Eli from the rest of the group.

"Weapons free!" Erik shouted as he one armed his pulse rifle and drew a Pulse Revolver and began firing into the horde of Xenomorphs.

"Cut the fuckers down!" Vlad roared as everyone went full auto fire.

Erik became more and more violent as he fired upon the diggers without mercy, and once his clip ran dry; he dropped his rifle and took up his broadsword. Slashing with wild abandon he cleaved into the diggers with ferocity, cutting limbs clean from their bodies and cutting open vital arteries.

The sounds of gunfire, plasmacasters and xenomorph screeches wouldn't be ending soon, the horde of diggers ploughing through the tight and narrow corridor in an attempt to close the distance between them and the group.


"Motherfuckers!" Eli cursed as he gritted his teeth in pain.

The Kamad was still tumbling down the tunnel, wrestling against the Xeno-Myrmidon and the Digger that was still latched onto his back.

The three didn't fall for that long, soon they reached their inevitable destination with an earth shattering thud. Eli didn't care about his new surroundings, all he cared about in the moment was getting the Xenomorphs off of him.

The Kamad grabbed the Xeno-Myrmidon by the throat and hurled it into a nearby wall. He had to deal with the digger first, then he could fully concentrate on the Myrmidon born xeno.

Eli planted his katana into the floor with a snarl and reached behind him with both hands. His tail also going to work as it managed to wrap itself around the Digger's waist.

The Digger screeched, clawing and biting at Eli's back as best it could but unfortunately for it, Eli's hand found its way to the Digger's throat. Eli grit his teeth and snarled as he tore the Digger from his back, glowing blue blood spilling from the Kamad's wounds.

Adrenaline flooded Eli's blood and sent him into a feral rage, he let out a long and loud roar and he forced the Digger to let go, causing its claws and tail to rip open the already opened wounds.

Eli's pain endurance was something else in order to endure something as painful as the wounds that the Xeno had inflicted. To anyone looking, a human would have passed out or died at this point, tendon and muscle hung from the wounds as blood poured freely like a river.

"NO PIGGY BACKS!" Eli roared at the top of his lungs as he ripped the Xenomorph free and slammed it into the ground in front of him.

The xenomorph was obviously dazed and tried to get its barings back, but it was immediately in deep shit. Eli was not going to simply cleave this one in a single stroke, he was pissed.

This was going to hurt.

Eli grabbed the xenomorph's head crest and drove his fist into the Digger's stomach, with an almighty thud Eli's punch probably ruptured if not turned any of the xenomorph's interior organs into mash.

The Kamad hoisted the Digger above his head and with a single motion brought its back down upon his waiting knee. With an earth shattering snap, the Digger's spine broke clean in two, but that wasn't all that the Angry Kamad had in store for the xeno.

"Not so fast anymore are you? You little Bastard!" Eli snarled as he raised the Digger above his head, getting a firm grip on its neck and its tail.

With a loud and ferocious roar, the Kamad ripped the Digger in half with his bare hands. The acidic blood spraying in an arc all over the walls and floor, and pooling around both pieces of the Digger when Eli discarded them to the floor like trash.

Eli then looked around him, scanning the area to see where the Xeno-Myrmidon had gone, but to his anger and frustration he could not find the creature anywhere.

The Kamad scanned his surroundings, trying to find any sign of the Xeno-Myrmidon or where it was hiding. The resin covered nature of the hive made it near impossible for someone to track across it, even a Kamad with an insanely good sense of smell would have difficulty without a solid lead.

Eli stopped looking, the Xeno-Myrmidon had obviously fled when it realized that Eli had the upper hand i single close quarters combat.

The Kamad slowed down his breathing, gaining back his composure, his heart beat slowing down to its original pace. Eli closed his eyes, inhale, then exhale, letting the adrenaline stop flowing and letting his healing abilities get to work.

Going into a feral rage too much was always a problem for Kamads. It was dubbed 'The Blood Rage' by many Kamads, and it was not something a Kamad would want to over indulge in. The Blood Rage always came in moments of heightened emotion or pain, both of which just happened to Eli; the Blood Rage would increase pain endurance and pump adrenaline through the body like crazy, it would also increase the effectiveness of a Kamad's healing abilities.

But the Blood Rage, when used too often would come with consequences.

Due to the higher concentration of Adrenaline and the lessened feeling of pain, Kamads would sometimes become irritable, aggressive, unfeeling and in worse scenarios: would enjoy the euphoria of the rage.

The worse it got, the more the Kamad would become addicted to the feeling of power, their healing abilities would double and their strength would increase due to the lack of restraint.

Soon the Kamad's eyes would change from their natural colour to a glowing blue, and the they would even become aroused at the scent of blood. In some extreme cases they would resort to cannibalism and lose all sense of sentient thought, they would revert to blood hungry monsters.

Someone very dear to Eli lived in fear of that every day.

So Eli was wise enough not to over indulge in the Blood Rage. It would be kept as a trump card if at all, as a true warrior did not have to rely on a trick in order to win a battle.

Eli's wounds and his armour didn't need long to regenerate, the nanites that composed most of his armour were very effective in this regard and once his wounds were healed and his armoured plates were reconstructed, he would be back to 100% functionality.

One of the many perks of being a Kamad.

Once the Kamad Prince's heart slowed down and his state of mind returned to normality, he began to obverse his surroundings, he found out pretty quickly that he was far from his original position. The tunnel that he and the Xenos had originally fell down looked about a mile or two long.

Eli thanked whatever gods that were listening that his bones had been made for greater gravity than the artificial gravity of the ship. Otherwise every bone in his body would have been shattered, then he would be in real trouble.

This Hive had to be one of the biggest that Eli had ever been in, a ship of the Asclepheus' size provided all the room that a Xenomorph would need to start the construction of a hive. Ample room, colossal cooling units and an abundance of host material. It was no surprise that the xenomorphs were relishing in making this place their new home.

"Little bastards have been busy" Eli murmured to himself.

"Great….talking to myself, that's a good sign" Eli sighed before retrieving his Katana and sheathing it.

Eli activated his helmet's radio systems "Erik, come in, this is Eli…do you copy?" he asked. Before going on their rescue mission, Eli and Erik made it a point to connect the radio systems of the Myrmdions, Yautja and the resident Kamad. Radio systems were a fairly simple technology, all it required was finding the right frequency and anyone of any species could make radio contact with someone else on the right frequency.

"Eli!? Oh thank fuck for that, I thought you were a goner" Erik replied over the radio.

"It'll take more than that to take me down. How are things on your end?"

"We managed to push the Diggers back, once they got rid of you it didn't take long for them to turn tail"

"Good….hey, listen, I won't be making it back to you from where I am. It would take hours for me to climb the dam tunnel, and we can't afford to waste any time" Eli replied.

"Are you serious? You can't solo a Xeno Hive, that's suicide" Erik replied with shock at the concept that the Kamad was suggesting that hi make his way alone through the hive.

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. You just concern yourself to getting to the heart and saving Sha'ra and Norma" Eli replied.

"But what about the scent trail?" Erik replied, Eli was the tracker of the group.

"It isn't that complex from there, just keep following the blood, you'll eventually find the trail easy enough" Eli replied. It was true, the hardest part of the tracking was finding Sha'ra's blood trail, the easy part for the other group had just begun.

"Are you sure, you'll be ok?" Erik asked with concern.

"I'm sure, All the tunnels of a Xeno hive are connected anyway….it's just a case of finding the right path" Eli replied.

"Alright….Godspeed, My friend" Erik replied.

"Likewise" Eli finished.

"And Eli…" Erik began

"What?"

"…Did you kill it?" Erik asked, referring to the Xeno-Myrmidon.

"…No, it got away" Eli replied.

"…Watch your back….and don't underestimate the fucker for even a second" Erik told the Kamad over the radio.

"It can't be that tough" Eli assumed.

"That thing down there with you….it isn't like the other Xenos. If you have a chance to kill it, don't hesitate" Erik implored the Kamad.

"…Alright. Over and out" Eli replied, turning off his radio.

The Kamad drew his katana and gave it a flourish, he had to be prepared for when the creature made its move. His armour fully reconstructed and his wounds fully healed, the Kamad set off on finding his way to the heart of the hive.

However, the Kamad was unaware of the creature watching him from a distance.

The putrid smell of the hive's resin perfectly hid its scent from the nose of the Kamad Elite. The pitch black resin and the slimy coating it provided perfectly hid the Xeno-Myrmidon from prying eyes, and the constant dripping of fresh resin slime hid the sounds of breathing.

The Xeno-Myrmidon had done its job; it had separated the biggest threat from its group. Now all it had to do was wait for a moment of weakness. And when that moment came, it would strike without mercy.


God it feels good getting back into the habit of this story. It feels good getting back to Eli, Erik, Norma and Sha'ra…..my babies missed me and I missed them, don't any of you worry, more is on the way, I'm on a roll here everyone!

And yes before you ask, Next chapter, Eli is by his lonesome. You see I realized that the other characters like Erik and Sha'ra have had time to develop by themselves…you know, see how they work, see how they tick…..so why not have Eli have his own time in the spotlight to see how he ticks?

That and yeah, the story will be concentrated on the Hive for the next few chapters, so get used to some good old fashioned Alien vibes with a few new ideas of mine, everybody.

Thank you guys so much for your continued support of this story, without all of you that read, favourite, follow or leave reviews (remember, the longer the better) It's YOU GUYS that give me the drive to keep writing this story.

Please tell me what you liked, what you wanna see more of and whatever else is on your minds, Until next time, I'm Dakkaman777 saying….see you guys in the next chapter

Please REVIEW!

Next Time: Eli makes his way through the horrifying depths of the Hive, all the while being hunted by a sinister foe. Erik, the Myrmidons and the Dark Blades fight against the clock to save Sha'ra and Norma from the Xenos. Tensions are still high between the Myrmdions and Yautja left behind while Zen'Tau tries to keep order and the Black Yautja Hunting Party all the while ride closer to their quarry.

To be continued in – 2 Mouths of Madness Pt3!