Chapter 26: No Man Left Behind (Part 1)

Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.

The explosion was far but the force was enough to knock some of the Bad Bloods off their feet. The one holding the facehugger was the unfortunate one. He fell hard, knocking the tongs out of his grip and freeing the facehugger. Qut'suak's hold was gone from Lex and she stumbled forward in front of it. It screeches and scurries across, jumping into the air to aim at her.

Oh, no you don't!

My fingers worked on the chain until I found the small clamp inserted into the chain before entering the ship. It was luck that the Bad Bloods didn't inspect it firsthand. Dumbasses. Finally, I was freed and I took off without hesitation. I reached to my waist and threw a small knife I hid from my enemies. It hits the facehugger dead center, pinning it to the ground. It screamed and tried to break free but it was inevitable. It died within seconds but the acidic blood began to burn the metal floor.

When that happened, Qut'suak was baffled but quick with giving orders. "Get them!"

The guards were the first to act, coming towards me with brute force. But we were one step ahead. As the male Bad Blood rushed past Brackett, she managed to free herself and got in his way. Some would think it's a death sentence for an ooman. The Bad Blood roars, bringing his wrist blades to cut her down. But he didn't have time to react. Brackett pressed something on her wrist and the next thing he knew, she was covered in the Protector. It wasn't as bulky as Rory's but still strong. Before the Bad Blood could dodge, she aimed her shoulder cannon and blasted his head clean off. He was dead before the Bad Blood's body fell to the floor.

The female guard, realizing what had happened, tried to back off. I didn't give her the chance. I pointed my fist at her, sending something flying across and stabbed into the middle of her chest. She howled in pain but I shot another one through her mouth, cutting the tip of a mandible as it got her. She gagged a few pools of green neon blood before she fell to the floor.

Too easy.

I glared to Qut'suak and saw the small bit of panic in his eyes. I smirked and that set him off. He roars to the Bad Bloods holding the creature. "Release it!"

There was hesitation in their eyes despite the command he'd given. They're terrified. Qut'suak grew impatient and pulled out some sort of gun I never saw before. He points it to one Bad Blood and sends a small blue blast at him. He stood no chance and he was obliterated in front of our eyes. He didn't hesitate for a split second with the other Bad Blood. Nothing remained of them but clumps of flesh sizzling as if being cooked on a stove. The blue-skinned Bad Blood, witnessing the brutality, scurried out of the room and locked the door behind him. It was pathetic.

He didn't even stand up and fight . . . but I guess I should have expected it.

With the creature freed, it throws its head in the air with a scream. It set its sights on me and charged like a wild boar. Lex, who was lying on the floor, went between me and it. The creature didn't stop its stride and reached to tear her apart. She smiled.

"Payback's a motherfucker."

Like with Brackett, she got her Protector on as well but with slight differences. Hers was bulky for a female, having an extra layer of armor over it. The creature, unfazed, leaps over her in an attempt to get the jump on her. Lex reacted, pulling one arm back as the armor around it morphed into a thick club. The creature was above her when she uppercut it, hitting smack in the middle of its chest. I wasn't sure if it had a strong exoskeleton but it proved useless as Lex cracked through it, exposing the skin underneath. It hissed in great pain before flying over Lex and slamming into the nearby wall, cracking it in two as if it was nothing.

"Nice go, Lex!" I thought it was best to remark and I was glad I did it. She disabled her mask for a moment and gave a smile that any proud warrior would wear when they have defeated a great enemy. It made my heart rise in strength.

But it was not over yet.

"Anya! To your left!'

I heard Brackett's voice calling. In an instant, I turned to see Qut'suak standing right next to me. I tried to retaliate but his dreadlocks extended and coiled around my arms, stopping my hand from bringing the special knife I've hidden in my belt. He growled before throwing me across the room. My back cracked a little from hitting the ground but it left an ache. This is nothing!

"Anya!"

Lex tried to reach me for support but Qut'suak aimed his shoulder cannon at her. She had no choice but to roll out of the way as a blue blast shot right past her, almost blowing her head off. Brackett charges with her wrist blades but Qut'suak aims again. This time, he shoots but Brackett dodges so quickly, using the momentum to her advantage and lunging at him. She pulls out a handgun and fires. It hits Qut'suak's shoulder, piercing his strong hide. He growls as Brackett slams into his stomach, forcing him to skid across the floor a few feet back.

I got to my feet as Brackett and Lex came to my side, watching Qut'suak groan and looking at the damage to his shoulder. Three bullet wounds are visible and oozing out green neon blood that slowly dripped down.

I smiled in satisfaction. "Had enough? We're just getting started."

He growled with such animosity. "How did you manage to get weapons through?"

"We had a little help but we needed to be more clever than that."

I held my wrist out for him to see. In a second, my gauntlet materialized and showed itself to Qut'suak. Lex and Brackett did the same with some of their weapons. Guns, spears, and knives were showing themselves. It took Qut'suak a minute to realize what I was demonstrating. I observed my gauntlet as the cloak disappeared. "You know I'm not a big fan of the cloaking device. I think it's a cheap way to hunt but tweaking it a bit becomes handy for this."

"Yeah. Karma's a bitch, motherfucker." Lex spits the ground nearest him.

"Speaking to the choir," Brackett commented. It felt good that the three of us managed to wound Qut'suak. It had been a long time since I was involved like this but with my friends around me, I wasn't alone anymore.

However, Qut'suak began to chuckle before it turned to an all-out laugh . . . like he didn't seem bothered by what happened and what he said.

"What's so funny?"

He slowly lowered his gaze to me with a freak of a smirk, sending chills down my spine. "You think you have the upper hand? Without the secret weapon we made, you will be nothing more than cattle to the slaughter!" He growled fiercely. "But you've seen nothing yet."

Slowly, he straightened himself to a stance. At first, he was staring at us until he lowered his head to the ground. I, Lex, and Brackett shared confused glances but kept our focus on him. Sure enough, he had another thing up his sleeve.

His shoulder twitched as if something pulled him back. But then, his arms began doing it . . . and then his legs. His face contorted in pain. He lowered to his knees and went into a sitting position so I couldn't see what he was doing.

"What is the . . ?" Lex asked.

"I don't know . . . but stay alert."

I held my blades at him while Lex and Brackett got into fighting position. I was debating on whether to charge before he did something but I had no idea what he had up his sleeves. That is . . . until I realized too late.

Qut'suak huffed and puffed heavily until I heard cracking of bones. I could see bulges forming along his spine until he threw his head in the air with a roar like none other. His mandibles sprayed out as his arms and legs began to extend and two more began to protrude from his sides. However, they became smaller in muscle tone, making them appear like walking sticks. His dreadlocks grew in thickness and stretched in the air, moving around like snakes. When the sound of breaking bones stopped and Qut'suak relaxed again, he slowly looks towards us and the disgusted look on his face made me want to throw up. Now, he had three mandibles on each side that curled into his inner mouth and his eyes had pupils that were slit like a cat. In general, he became a humanoid spider creature mixed with Yautja features.

My eyes widened in horror. What have you done?

"Shit . . ."

I agree with you, Brackett.

Qut'suak looked at us and laughed. His voice was no longer his . . . like a gaspy, old man "The tables have turned."

Brackett, Lex, and I moved back a bit but weren't about to back off. But we didn't have a choice. A hiss from behind made our heads turn. The creature from before shook out of its confinement of rubble from the wall. It shook its head before focusing its rage at us. It hunched its back, making it look bigger as it came closer, hunting us. Its tail whipped around in the air. Now, all three of us were being cornered with the creature behind us and Qut'suak in front. Although we had the upper hand in numbers, it did little to make me feel confident we'll make it out without much injury.

Sensing my anxiety, Qut'suak grins and crouches even lower. My heart dropped. He's preparing for an attack!

"Watch out!"

I screamed just as Qut'suak lunged for us. I dropped to my back, missing his claws for a split second. Lex and Brackett rolled out of the way but Qut'suak was too quick. One of his dreadlocks wrapped around Brackett by the waist and threw her against the wall. If it wasn't for the Protector, her spine would have been crushed. But the gasp of pain from her made me cringe.

Lex yelled. "You bastard!"

She charged at Qut'suak with brute force. He jumped out of the way so fast and grabbed onto the ceiling. Lex was ready to go after him but the kainde amedha creature rushed at her, pushing her onto the ground. Its mouth opened, ready to kill her as she did whatever she could to protect herself. I got up as fast as I could and shot other extra blades I had behind . . . a feature that I added with the cloaking device. However, the creature whipped its tail so the blades dug into it instead of its head. C'jit! I rushed after Lex and it with my wrist blades out.

But I should have known better. In an instant, I was on my back. A heavyweight prevented me from twisting around to see who it was . . . it could only be one person.

"So you thought you can come in here and take us out like we're nothing?"

Qut'suak growled but then his tongue slithered out of his mouth and inches to my ear, tasting me. You son of a bitch . . . You'll regret it dearly. He pulls back and picks me up, only to press me against the wall by the neck. I grabbed on his arm, trying to break free. His slitted eyes came up close to my face . . . a little too close.

"Oh I wish I could kill you now but I have my orders." He turns his head into the direction of Daugo, still held up on the rack, and hasn't moved, even with the fighting. My eyes went back and forth between and my heart dropped as soon as I connected the dots, especially when he began to grin.

His dreadlock that hung from the side of his face extended like a snake in the air, pointing at Daugo's direction. The tip grew thinner until it looked as sharp as a needle. When I saw that, I thrashed as hard as I could, kicking and clawing at his arm. It only makes him grin even more.

"Daugo did well . . . but he outlived his usefulness."

Everything was silent, even the scream I let out of my throat as his dreadlock flew in the air and aimed for Daugo's chest. Was this it? All my planning and ends up being a failure? In that split moment, I thought I was the failure.

I can't let him die! I can't!

But then, another explosion closer to the room we were in began. The door on the side cartwheeled through the room, hitting the creature in the process and freeing Lex from its grip. Qut'suak was distracted and his dreadlock stopped inches from Daugo. Now's my chance!

I closed my eyes and let my body change, feeling it extend and split into two. The pain was welcomed. By the time Qut'suak realized what I was doing, I roared as loud as I could, almost close enough my mandibles reached him. Packed full of muscle now, I pulled back my arm and punched him square in the face. The feeling of his mandibles breaking under my knuckles felt awesome. He screeched, releasing me and I took the opportunity to swing a kick into his abdomen. He skids across the floor and goes down on one knee.

I stood tall. Serves him right.

"Ta'kasa!"

I heard someone calling me from the opened wall where the door stood. The blue-skinned Bad Blood was the first to come out, confusing me until I saw him thrown to the ground. He didn't move or twitch, only to realize that his throat was slit. Finally, Yeyinde and Nei'hman-de stepped into the room. I was relieved to see them.

"Took you long enough," I spoke.

Yeyinde bowed his head. "Our apologies. The Killer Yautja had locked down the ship when the alarms went off. We were surrounded by Bad Bloods by the time we looped around to gain access to the room."

Nei-hman-de cluttered his mandibles. "Sorry if it took up longer than you liked."

"It's fine."

Brackett and Lex came to my side, huffing. "We need to get out of here quickly or else we'll be surrounded. We've already got fucking mutants around here."

But right as Brackett said that I turned to see several dreadlocks aiming for us. "Move!"

By some miracle, every one of us managed to miss being impaled. Each dreadlock was so strong that it dug into the metal ground, penetrating it. I stayed close to Lex and Brackett while Yeyinde and Nei'hman-de were on the other side. In the middle, Qut'suak crouched like the spider he was.

"I'm not done with you yet."

Yeyinde and Nei'hman-de saw his form for the first time and looked at him with disgust. Yeyinde growled at such an abomination. "You've gone too far."

"We've only just begun."

We heard the creature throwing the mangled door from itself, screeching in rage. It's angry now. We were back to square one but now we have more forces joining us.

"Lex. Nei'hman-de." Their faces turned to me. "I need you to take care of our 'little' friend over there." They nodded without question and moved to take care of the creature.

"Brackett . . . you get to Daugo and protect him at all costs. No matter what happens."

She nods. "Understood." She goes around the room and heads for Daugo. It only left me and Yeyinde to fight against Qut'suak. As much as I liked the numbers, we needed to divide and conquer to get out of this mess. Slowly, I inched my face to him and sighed.

"Let's take care of this bastard."

For the first time, I heard him chuckle under his mask. "I was going to say the same thing."

I smiled, feeling my mandibles curled close to my inner mouth. Both of us faced Qut'suak with our weapons prepped and ready to kill.

"You think you still have a chance to defeat us?" Qut'suak shook his head. "I changed my mind. I don't care what Hakr'ouh says. I'm going to kill you myself!"

He roars, charging right at us. We stood our ground and waited for the right moment.

"Go right!"

On cue, Yeyinde moves with such swiftness while I go to the other side as Qut'suak zips past us. Pissed off, even more, he throws his dreadlocks at each of us. We moved as fast as we could, barely missing them. He plants his heels to stop his forward motion and roars at us once more. Like an angry bull, he charges yet again but aims for me this time. I hunched down and used all my upper body strength as our clawed hands slammed into one another. I kept my knees locked in place as Qut'suak tried to push forward. I growled, keeping my eyes on him.

It gave Yeyinde the chance to get a hit. He slams into Qut'suak from the side, letting go of my hands and plunges his blades into his chest. Qut'suak screams but it wasn't enough to bring him down. He grabs onto Yeyinde shoulders and raises him in the air, wrapping a dreadlock around his throat. Yeyinde tries to free himself but more dreadlocks wrap around his arms and legs, immobilizing him.

"Yeyinde!"

I tried to get to him but Qut'suak whips a dreadlock at me. I dodged it, only to have his clawed hand slice into my chest. It stung as if someone burned me, all too familiar with the ones on my back. That small hesitation gave Qut'suak a chance to send me skidding across the floor. I groaned and laid on the ground for a moment.

"Anya!" I heard Brackett from the side, seeing that she was already getting to work on Daugo's bondage. I saw her tempted to come to me but that would leave Daugo vulnerable. I could hear Lex and Nei'hamn-de fighting the creature from behind. They were too busy to do anything. We were stretched thin. Before Brackett took a step, I roared.

"Don't!" She froze. "Don't leave him!"

I was already convicted to keep Daugo alive, even if it meant I was going to get hurt badly. Brackett, seeing my resolve, lowers her eyes and steps back, going back to work on freeing Daugo. I hissed as I got myself back on my feet. I touched my chest and felt the gashes were deep but not life-threatening.

"Awww . . . Did I hurt your pretty image?"

Qut'suak was playing with me. He had Yeyinde still in his grip but not choking him. I chuckled. "It won't last."

I waited and waited for my wounds to heal but when I went to touch them again, the gashes were still there. What? Confused, I looked at my hand and saw more green blood all over it, letting my eyes look down at my chest. There was no sign of healing or even the bleeding slowing down. My confusion grew even more.

The wounds should have been healed by now. Did Qut'suak have something up his sleeve? I checked again. No . . . I don't feel anything else. What's going on?

"Something wrong?"

It was a split second when I looked up that a dreadlock wraps around my arms, binding them to my sides. I roared in fury, doing whatever I could to get myself out. But now, Yeyinde and I were trapped under his hold.

"Anya!"

"Ta'kasa! Brother!"

Lex and Nei'hman-de tried to reach us but the creature stepped between them, hissing while widening its arms to make itself massive. Nei'hman-de roared in defiance and charged at the creature once more. Of course, Lex attempted to use the distraction to make it but got whipped by the creature's tail, sending her across the floor. They couldn't get to us, having their hands tied. Brackett could only watch, obeying my orders to stay with Daugo but the look on her face told me she was fighting within herself.

My face was forced to look to Qut'suak when his clawed hand dug into my cheeks and under my chin. It took everything in me not to bite his mandibles off. He merely smiled.

"Too bad this has to end like this. Farewell." He bunched his claws into a bundle of sharp points, aiming for my throat. I heard Yeyinde growling and thrashing harder than ever. It was a good attempt but Qut'suak's dreadlock that was wrapped around his throat tightened, making him gag.

Every time I thought death would come for me, I would feel some sort of fear inside. But this time, I didn't. I wasn't ready to die and it didn't feel like the end for me. I growled like a true warrior, waiting for Qut'suak to strike.

Instead, I heard gunshots and then Qut'suak stopped and howled in agony. The bindings holding Yeyinde and I slacked, giving me the chance to slip out of his hold. I wasted no time and rushed to Yeyinde, slicing the dreadlock with my blades. He falls to the ground and I get to my knees to check on him.

"Are you alright?"

He coughed for a moment. "I'm good . . ." He rubbed his neck. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

We heard Qut'suak roar once more and saw him stagger. More gunshots are heard along with familiar shouts. As soon as Qut'suak got out of the way of our view, I was shocked to find who it was.

Royce!?

It was him, shooting some kind of shotgun at Qut'suak. He managed to get several bullets into him before Qut'suak staggered to his knees. With that, he rushed towards us. "Are you alright?"

He saw the wound on my chest but I pushed him away before he could check it out. I smeared the excess blood off, relieved that it started to heal but slowly. Yeyinde, still unsure of Royce, growled but I waved my hand to stop him. "We're fine. Why are you here? I thought I told you to stay on the ship."

"We lost connection with the others when the explosion happened. Rory's still on the ship but the both of us decided to infiltrate and find you."

"Both of you?"

He nodded, glazing behind him. I followed and was shocked to see McKenna standing on top of the creature, shooting a handgun onto the back of its skull with Lex and Nei'hman-de stripping the creature clean of its limbs, making sure to steer clear of its acidic blood before Nei'hman-de cut its head off. As much as I was frustrated that they went against orders, the good side was that they arrived on time.

I groaned. Both me and Yeyinde got to our feet as the rest of our party came together. McKenna coming over with a smirk. "Pissed at us?"

I growled. "Yes, and we'll talk about it later. Right now, we got one more enemy to take out."

All of us turned as soon as Qut'suak got a grip on himself. His body was covered in his blood. Several gunshot wounds can be seen" going through his chest and abdomen. C'jit . . . He's still standing?!

"Hehehe . . ." Qut'suak's voice crackled. "So you were so weak that you sent reinforcements made us entirely of oomans. You have dive too low, even for a hybrid like yourself."

I huffed. "It doesn't matter what you say. You're weakened and outnumbered. If you surrender, we'll give you a quick death."

He laughed. "I will never surrender to you! Die!"

He charged once more, sending a few of his dreadlocks at each of us. Our group split into two to avoid the attack and ran along each side. "Take his sides out! Immobilize him!"

Everyone nodded, hearing the command. Lex, Nei'hman-de, and McKenna went to Qut'suak's side while Royce, Yeyinde, and I took the other. Qut'suak roars and takes out two handheld shoulder cannons aimed at us. He shoots but misses. I've seen the weapons before but they have poor accuracy at long range but can be deadly at close range.

"Take out his guns!"

With that, Royce and McKenna aimed, having the only weapons that can shoot from a distance. Royce managed to take out one but McKenna missed, having a shot come after him. Yeyinde pushes him out of the way and gets a shot on the shoulder. Luckily, his armor protected him from most of the damage and he continued onward. By the time Qut'suak realized it, Yeyinde took possession of the gun and shot a blast through the side of his stomach. It left a gaping hole and you could see parts of his broken ribs along to where his stomach used to be.

This is our chance!

In a split second, Nei'hman-de grabbed hold of Qut'suak's arm while Lex and McKenna jumped onto his back, holding on as hard as they could while slicing into his hide. Royce and Yeyinde held his other side, completely immobilized. As for me, I charged straight at him. But even with his injuries, he still had the will to fight. Qut'suak hissed and kicked me. I crossed my hands to defend myself. It felt like a concrete wall smacked me with such force. It left a few scratches with some bleeding a little. I growled, not ready to back off.

Qut'suak pushed and twisted his body to get my friends off, spilling green neon blood everywhere. They began to struggle, trying to hold on for dear life. Even Yeyinde and Nei'hman-de were having a hard time. I knew I needed to end it now or else we might not defeat him.

For some reason or another, my eyes wandered the floor and caught sight of the sickle weapon Qut'suak dumped on the floor earlier. A thought came to me . . . and I knew what I had to do. I raced towards Qut'suak as he threw off McKenna and then Lex, grabbing the sickle on the way. Qut'suak saw me coming and threw his dreadlocks at me.

But it was too late.

I jumped onto him, using his knees as leverage as I swung the sickle upward, plunging the blade straight through the underside of his chin. It cut through like butter until it went through his skull. The tip emerging from his forehead.

Qut'suak's body suddenly went stiff. His hold on everyone else softened. I watched as he gagged on his blood that was welling in his mouth. His eyes appeared to become blurry, searching for anything until they got enough to focus on me. The hate was emitting from him like heat from an oven . . . unmistakable. It made me wonder how much his hatred grew over who knows how long . . . and when it began in the first place.

I leaned closer to his face. My breath spread all over him. "Be angry no more." I paused, leaning forward. "This is for Daugo."

I mustered all the strength I had in me and pulled the sickle backward. I could hear tearing of tendons and muscles as his neck snapped. With another jerk, his head comes off, carrying part of his spine on the way. With that, his body falls to the ground and everyone moves away as it does.

He's no more . . .

The second-in-command was gone. I raised my hand with the sickle holding his head. His eyes were glossed over with death. His mandibles slacked and became nothing more than jelly. It would have been a great trophy to show everyone . . . a prize that all honorable Yautjas would covet. For me, it was a painful reminder of what he had done. I swiped the sickle in a quick motion and the head goes rolling until it stops. The deed was done . . .

"That bastard is dead?" It took a moment for me that Brackett had come over to witness what had occurred. My body felt exhausted, turning back to ooman form as I stood there, placing the sickle weapon on my belt, intending to save it.

"Yes . . . he is. But it's not over yet. We need to get out of here and find the rest of our group. Then reconnect with Rory to get the Hell out of here."

I walked over to Daugo with everyone else following, finally able to touch him after so long. Upon a closer look, his injuries were severe. I grabbed his face to shake it, trying to get a response. He groaned but didn't open his eyes. My heart pounded in worry.

"Help me get him off."

Nei'hman-de and Yeyinde came to each side and worked on the bonds that Brackett was trying to cut earlier. Made easier, they snapped off and let Daugo free. He almost collapsed onto the floor if not for Nei'hman-de and Yeyinde catching him.

"I'll carry him."

Nei'hman-de wasted no time and pulled Daugo onto his shoulders. I couldn't blame him for groaning when he placed Daugo on him. He was much bigger than a Young Blood and he was almost dead weight.

"Alright." I turned to Royce and McKenna. "Before you came on the ship, did you have any clue where Lar'ja and the others are?"

They shook their heads. "We don't know. We simply followed blindly into the ship but Rory said he was working on getting the connection on. If he hasn't yet, then we have no choice but to find them ourselves."

I sighed. "Then we need to get going. Who knows what the explosion has done to the ship. We need to find Lar'ja and the others before—"

All of a sudden, my communications on my gauntlet activated. Everyone stood still as we heard static coming through. But after a minute, a voice could be heard coming through. I had to wait a little bit before it came into focus.

"Anya . . ? Are you there?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Arkarb?!"

He was the last person I was expecting to hear. But I was glad that he was alive and able to get in contact with us. In this Hellhole, I was happy to hear his voice again. I stuttered, trying to get my words out. "How did you manage to contact us?!"

He chuckled. "I have my ways. Plus, your friend named Rory finally gave us some leverage to use in this chaos."

"Is Lar'ja and the others with you?"

He didn't respond, only hearing scuffling as if someone was passing the communications along. My heart leaped in joy when I heard the next voice belonged to Lar'ja.

"Anya!"

"Lar'ja! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine! What about you?! Are you hurt?!"

He sounded worried so I didn't mention my chest wounds and the others on my arms. "I'm fine. Everyone else is fine but had a run-in with Qut'suak."

I heard him growl. "Did he hurt you?"

"It doesn't matter. We killed him."

I heard him purr in satisfaction. Learning Yautja behavior, they tend to purr for various reasons, including one when a Yautja is proud. There was no doubt of his reason behind his own. I giggled, amused by his reaction.

But I got back to what had happened. "What was that explosion? It knocked out the communications as I was told. That wasn't supposed to happen until we got Daugo."

"Did you get him?"

"He's alive but barely."

Lar'ja sighed. I wasn't sure if it was out of relief or annoyance. "That's good. I'm sorry but the bomb had to be detonated prematurely. Some of the Bad Bloods were unto us when we searched for Arkarb."

I grunted. "It doesn't matter now. Where are you?"

"We're in the far section of the ship, close to the back at the bottom. We're heading back to the upper levels but the lifts are down so we have to take the long way."

I glanced towards everyone around me, seeing their eager faces. I nodded and gave my answer. "We're in the pilot deck so we're going to head back the way we came so we'll meet you in the middle. Understood?"

He grunted. "I understand."

"Alright. We're going on." I was about to turn off the communications when Lar'ja stopped me.

"Anya?"

"Yes, Lar'ja?"

I heard silence for a moment until he spoke softly, followed with a purr. "Please . . . stay safe."

I couldn't help but smile. My heart was leaping in my chest. "I will. You too."

I turned it off before anything else could say. I looked up to see everyone watching me. Lex and Brackett were smiling, having disabled their masks so their faces were exposed. Royce looked like he was sick while McKenna smirked as if he was proud. Nei'hman-de and Yeyinde didn't show any expression and they didn't need to. Everyone else's reactions were enough. My cheeks blushed but I shook my face and growled.

"What are you staring at? Let's get going!"

Everyone snapped out of the moment and scrambled to get out of there before they suffered my wrath. I sighed and got everyone moving out of the room, staying at the back to make sure Nei'himan-de got through with Daugo. I patted him on the shoulder and followed closely behind.

Although we won a battle, we weren't out of the woods yet. We needed to escape.

Hello Everyone!

What a battle!

Qut'suak was hard to take down and wasn't going to die easily. It took her and her friends to take him and the creature down. But I'm glad that Royce and McKenna joined the fight and managed to help just in time.

More good news . . . Arkarb is safe and well along with Lar'ja and everyone else. It was kinda funny that they had a loving moment but Anya felt embarrassed when her group was watching them. And she got a new weapon

But now, they need to get out of the ship in one piece but the chaos is not done yet. I mean . . . you got the kainde amedha along with the remaining Bad Bloods. Are they going to come up with a plan to stop them?

Will they make it out alive? Or will they lose someone important?

With being a warrior, nothing is ever sure.

Find out when Chapter 27 is posted next week (Friday the latest) unless changes are posted on Instagram.

P.S. I hope you like my cross stitch of the Yautja I created. ;)

Thank you for Mariah, Anonymous-E, NeverNeverLady, Nightroad816, and Guest for the reviews on Chapter 25. More blood and gore is coming . . . and many more towards the end. :)

Thank you and Good Hunting! Stay safe and healthy! :)))

Reading notes:

Normal = Anya (human form) or any human speaking English (ooman language)

Italic = Anya (human form) or any human speaking Yautja

Bold = Any Yautja speaking English (ooman language)

Bold and Italic = Any Yautja speaking Yautja language