Chapter 41: Final Battle
Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.
I kept my eyes on Hakr'ouh as we walked in a circle, weapons drawn and fingers itching to move. The silence overwhelmed our senses but also kept them sharp. My eyes never left his. My blades scratched against my armor, sharpened to the teeth. It wouldn't be long before the tension snapped. A leaf blows across between us. Although we kept our sights on each other, we waited until the leaf landed softly on the ground. And then everything set off rather quickly.
Hakr'ouh charged at me first, blades and mandibles aimed to cut into my flesh. I dodged to the side but not before clashing my wrist blades to smack his weapon away. The force sent both of us to opposite sides. My knees burned as I twisted my body just as Hakr'ouh recovered and came at me once more. He's nothing but a monster acting on instinct.
"Come on, Anya! Is that the best you got!?"
His saliva splatters on the ground as he roared with such anger. I slit my eyes behind my mask and did not hesitate to charge. Right as I came at him, ready to slice him down, I knew Hakr'ouh would defend himself. He crossed his arms and dug his heels into the ground.
Let's see you dodge this.
In a split second, before I was inches from him, I kneeled and took his hesitation to slash the back of his thigh. Although his exoskeleton dulled the force of my attack, my blades left a deep gash that brought joy to my ears when I heard his roar of pain.
I smirked. I got this in the bag. He won't be able to move fast enough.
But that was my mistake. Hakr'ouh, somehow, saw this coming and grabbed my dreadlocks. I hissed when he jerked me backward and threw me like a ragged doll. I managed to flip in the air and land on my feet, watching him shake his wounded leg. His blood trickled across the ground.
"I know what you're doing." We circled once again. My heart beats with anticipation. "You're going to have to do better than that, Hybrid."
"We'll see about that."
I roared before I charged at him again. But I changed tactics and zipped back and forth between him. Hakr'ouh growled with disdain as his eyes tried to follow me. As much as I was about the same size as him, he was much stronger. I had to use my agility to get the upper hand. With a kick off the ground, I avoided a direct attack from his blades, almost cleaving my head if I reacted a few seconds slower. It gave an opening and I took it, digging my blades into his waist and then dragging them across his flesh. I could feel the flesh being torn. His blood felt good between my fingers. But the hit came with a cost. It allowed Hakr'ouh to kick at my back and scratch his claws across it. I lost my footing and rolled like a kicked puppy getting a beating.
C'jit. That didn't feel good. When I recovered, my back felt it was on fire. I reached around, keeping my eyes on Hakr'ouh as he growled. A warm, stick liquid rubbed between my fingers. He manages to stick his claws into the area where my armor was broken. Great . . . Just great.
Hakr'ouh chuckled. "You've gotten better since the last time we've met. Who taught you?"
I huffed. I'm not in the mood to tell you anything.
"Why do you do this?"
I raised the muscles over my eyes in confusion. "Why are you asking such a pauking question now?"
He shook his head, almost smiling as if he was hearing such an audacious question. "You fight hard for those who would have thrown you out for being a hybrid. You think these fools would have followed if you didn't show force?"
What is he trying to pull?
"I mean . . . they have discriminated against you so many times, regardless of what you do. No matter what you do, they'll never accept you."
I lost count of how many times I've heard that speech from him. Both of us being hybrids and trying to evoke our beliefs over the others. Any Yautja warrior would have dismissed such a claim and kill Hakr'ouh without a second thought. But for some reason or another, doubt began to seep into my mind . . . more so when I saw his eyes. Hakr'ouh showed sincerity but also rage and . . . maybe sadness. Does he know something that—
I shook my head. No, Anya. He's only tricking you.
"I don't buy it. You're a Bad Blood. You cause more suffering and death that no one can trust you. That trick won't work on me."
It was then that I saw a sudden but slow change in him. Hakr'ouh lowered his face so I couldn't see him but the aura around him changed. His shoulders started to tremble like he was holding something back. And then he began to chuckle. I stayed silent, wondering what the pauk he was doing until he threw his head up and cackled. It wasn't like one who would associate it with a witch. It was much, much worse.
"You . . . everyone . . . have no idea what I've been through. What my family has been through."
His cackling stopped and his head rose slowly like a killer in a horror movie. His grotesque body and skin made it worse, shaping him like a swamp monster with his red eyes glowing with rage at his prey. I don't know what came over him suddenly but I had a feeling that this was inevitable.
"All we ever wanted was to be free from our chains. My father and mother felt the same. They spoke of the truth that the Code of Honor was no different than having chains, only invisible. They only wished to show a new path for our species."
I watched as his dreadlocks started to rise like hair when you get goosebumps. I didn't think Yautjas could actually do that.
"But everyone else saw them as nothing more than filth to be washed away. They were killed like unworthy prey along with the rest of my clan. In my young mind, I thought I could restore my honor and be respected."
He stepped closer and I hunched into a fighting stance. His body contorted in unnatural ways. His mandibles twisted like tentacles while his fingers twitched like he got shocked. From what I could see, he was becoming unstable. That made him more dangerous. What is going on inside his mind? It's like he's falling apart.
"But no matter what . . . They would always see me as the spawn of Bad Bloods. No matter what I did to impress the higher ranking Yautja, they always find an excuse to put me down. I never stood a chance against the suppression of our own kind. Until you can along."
I pulled my head back in confusion but also curiosity. I growled my frustration. "What are you babbling on about?"
"You know what I mean."
He hunched even lower, almost close to being like a caveman. His muscles were still building as his blades scraped the ground. I didn't know what to make of this behavior. With each second that passes, it was like he was degrading into a beast. But he didn't stop talking and I would have ended it then and there . . . except when he began to go deeper into a personal matter.
"You and I were the same."
The same? Did he drink c'ntlip before this fight? I hope so.
"We were treated as nothing, driven to great lengths to prove our worth. They cut us, spat us down but we stayed strong." His behavior took another swift turn, completely in the opposite direction. Hakr'ouh clattered his mandibles softly, resembling a soft cry.
"And yet . . . you rose and became respected and treasured as a Leader. You got a life mate and an unborn pup inside you. But I remained the same, scraping for a place in this cruel society. How did we become so different?"
It was then that I realized what he meant . . . and why he kept me alive all of this time. From what little I heard from his mouth, which could be lies for all I know, he has suffered through the rules of Yautja society. It wasn't a secret how brutal it could be to traitors or offspring of Bad Bloods. Sa'iye was one of them and I have several accounts of how deep the hatred for 'new things' run in Yautjas. Their pride was their greatest strength and also their greatest enemy. I looked closely into Hakr'ouh's red eyes and saw a fraction of sorrow in them. No matter what I did to ignore that fact, it was there.
Suffered . . . Abandoned . . . Maimed . . . Like me. Only at this moment that I realized why he kept me alive. There were so many times he could have killed me and finished this war before it even started. The time on Earth when he attacked us . . . when Qut'suak was ordered to keep me alive . . . when he wanted to bring me to him when we arrived on Yautja Prime . . It was starting to make sense.
In some twisted way, he was alone . . . and wanted someone who shares his pain. I . . .
I shook my head. Regardless, it didn't change the fact that he killed so many for his 'ideal' world he wanted for all Yautja. He killed many oomans like Nebraska and the Loonies. He killed Olgath and T'uark who sacrificed themselves to let us escape the ship. Nothing has changed. I stood strong and hissed, pointing my wrist blades at him. I saw him pull back in shock. Did he really think I would sympathize with him?
"I don't know if what you're saying is true. But it doesn't change the fact that you're a Bad Blood. You murdered our brethren and went against the Code of Honor. You may think that you're doing good for the Yautja but all you did was use force to get what you want. You will die the same way as those from before."
I watched as Hakr'ouh lowered his face again. I worried about what was going through his brain at the moment. A minute of silence passed before he cackled, growing slowly in volume. He threw his head in the air, making sure everyone knew.
"You're right! You're absolutely right!"
Hakr'ouh gave an evil smirk that sent a chill down my spine. Out of nowhere, his hand reaches into his loincloth. What does he have there? Before I could debate whether to attack or not, he pulls out a syringe filled with clear liquid with a hint of red. It bubbled inside, which frightened me. He raised it above himself, pointing the needle at his chest.
My eyes widened at the glint in his eyes. What is he doing?!
"You're right, Ta'kasa. I've been doing everything wrong up to this point. But I won't make that mistake again. If force and blood are necessary to make my dreams become a reality, then so be it!"
With no time to stop him, he plunges the syringe into his heart. Green blood trickled on the side as the clear liquid sucked into his body. He threw the empty syringe just as he began to spasm. I didn't like it when I saw foam forming at the corners of his mouth. His eyes rolled in the back of his head and his dreadlocks stood up. Whatever he put in himself, I have to stop him before it's too late!
Without thinking, I ran to give the final blow. I hoped that aiming for his heart would end whatever process he was going through. But by the time my blades were inches from his chest, he grabbed my wrist. I roared and tried to thrash out of his grip but he hung me in the air like I was nothing. Even in my Yautja state, I felt helpless and for good reason. I did a double-take to see that Hakr'ouh had grown twice his size. Did he grow a few feet within minutes? His muscles began to pop out of their skin, tearing it apart. It didn't seem to matter with Hakr'ouh. I widened my gaze in horror as I saw them bulging out of their sockets. Nothing but red could be seen like he was possessed. The grin never left his face.
In an instant, he twisted my wrist and broke it effectively. I only had a second to roar in pain before he threw me across the stadium. It took a large boulder to stop my backward momentum but my back suffered the worst. I swear that each vertebra had a least a small fracture if not more. My wrist was burning and I knew I could use it anymore.
Pauk . . . When did he get so strong?
I didn't have time to relax. I struggled to get to my feet, clicking my mandibles in annoyance and irritation. I saw Hakr'ouh standing where he was. But his body began to morph into an abomination that I couldn't describe or compare to anything else. He grew more arms than I could count, almost into a spider. His nails and ticks sharpened like needles. His neck stretched to the fullest and his skin grew another layer of scales. His dreadlocks morphed into snake-like appendages, hissing with hysteria. He opened his mouth and I saw a second pair of jaws protruding out of the dark abyss, almost too much like a kainde amedha. In the end, he was a Yautja no more.
He's a monster. Hakr'ouh . . . What have you done to yourself?
He lowered his gaze and I shivered when his pupils were slits like a cat with a deep shade of red. "Shall we get started?"
Hakr'ouh suddenly zipped right in front of me. Even in my Yautja form, he was too fast for my eyes to follow. By the time I realized it, he had his claws wrapped around my neck. My throat constricted so I could only give gasps. He tugged the back of my necktie force my face closer to his.
"This is the true way to win a war. If this is what it takes . . . transforming into a monster to get what I want . . ." His breath flowed over my cheeks.
"Then so be it."
Hakr'ouh threw me far into the air like I was nothing. I was helpless to catch myself. But I was in far more trouble than I thought. My body barely was inches from the ground when Hakr'ouh was right next to me.
How did he—
He kicked me with a roundhouse and I went into the other direction with blinding speed. I felt my muscles being torn apart by his attacks. That is how strong he was. Whatever he did to himself, it increased his strength unnaturally. It made me wonder if he was planning for this while the other side believed that his insanity had finally broken him. But I needed to get out of this predicament.
As expected, he comes straight at me from the side like before. In an attempt to break his path, I swiped my wrist blades to smack with his claws. Sparks flew between and I was sure that he flinched. Finally,
I managed to get my feet and I thought fortune was changing in my favor. I prepared for a final attack to aim at his heart. Even with his body, that was always a weakness. I watched as Hakr'ouh threw his head in a mix of a hiss and roar. Now's my chance!
"Too slow."
Hakr'ouh's dreadlocks wrapped themselves around my arm and squeezed like a vise. My muscles and bones felt like they were going to burst. What's worse was that the heads of the dreadlocks bit into my flesh, ripping even through my thick skin. I roared in agony as I felt my veins burning. Despite the pain in my broken wrist, I threw my blades at his face. But more dreadlocks wrapped my other arm, even breaking my blades like they were twigs. They were so dear to me . . . a present from Daugo and my mother. My heart broke a little.
"I feel so powerful!" Hakr'ouh threw his head in laughter. "This is what true authority feels like!"
He slams me into the ground once more. I didn't know how much my body would last with the constant beating he was giving me. I struggled to keep my Yautja form intact. But it would be in vain as Hakr'ouh slams a foot onto my chest. I gasped from the sudden loss of air but he seemed to revel in my pain. He lifts his foot to slam it into my throat. I gagged and began to thrash on instinct to survive, digging my claws into his thighs but to no avail. Hakr'ouh looked down with insanity and blind rage in his inhuman eyes. Probably not even Yautja anymore.
But the torture continued when he thrust his fingers into his chest. I could feel his claws forming a cage sprung my heart and I could feel my blood running over my chest. I screamed with everything I had. He twisted them inside me and I could no longer hold my form. I felt myself shrink back into an ooman. Hakr'ouh smirked evilly, thinking he had already won.
"Pitiful. I thought you would be more of a challenge, Anya. But I can see now that you're nothing but a defect. If I had known earlier, you would not even be breathing. But it seems that it is time to end things."
His claws twisted even further. I could swear that he could crush it right then and there. I didn't like this feeling of being toyed with like prey. Despite my position, I hissed my dissatisfaction. "You . . . bastard."
He chucked. "No need to get nasty. You won't love much longer to feel anything." His eyes lowered until it stopped at my stomach. I didn't like the smirk he was giving me. "I will make sure nothing survives, especially the abomination growing inside you."
My eyes widened. He's going to hurt my pup!?
With a burst of energy I had left, I reached and pulled the sickle weapon as quickly as I could, barely blocking his attack. His claws scraped over the blade. I was glad the old weapon didn't falter.
"You still have this stupid old relic with you? How ironic."
The crushing force of his hand pressed down on the sickle. I bit my lip, enduring the pain and pressure on my body. But I know too well that things were going south. This is bad. This is very bad.
"You have no honor, monster."
Hakr'ouh merely grinned, as I expected. "Then you'll die by the hand of a monster."
His words were certain as his dreadlocks aimed at my chest and torso. The panic in myself began to surface, infecting my mind. I can't die here! Not now! Not to this abomination! I forced myself not to show any emotion that would egg him on. I watched with a glare as he hissed. His eyes burned for my death.
Out of nowhere, a dart punctures his neck and he instantly throws his head in pain. It was too fast to see what was injected into him but it must have hurt since Hakr'ouh loosens his grip. I took the chance and kicked at his stomach. He pulls back, allowing me to slash the sickle and cut off his fingers. But then, a blast hits him from the side, sending him flying to the side and slam into a wall.
What was that?
"Anya!"
My eyes widened as I heard it was Rory. Sure enough, he runs to my side, helping me on my feet. As much as I was glad he showed up, I was angry. "Damn it, Rory! I told you to stay with the others!"
"I know . . . but I couldn't just leave you. I chased after you and saw Lar'ja separate from you. He's fine but I couldn't leave you alone."
I hissed when he touched my wrist. He quickly lets go, raising his metal hands. I shook my head. "You should have stayed behind."
"So you brought reinforcements in the form of an ooman? Pathetic."
Both of us watched as Hakr'ouh got to his feet, pulling the syringe out of his next and shattering it in his hands. "This small prick won't do you any—"
To my shock and Hakr'ouh's, his body was shrinking once more. Slowly, his dreadlocks began to crumble into dust along with several of his arms. His hardened skin peeled away lie he got a bad burn from tanning in the sun.
"What is this!?" He tried to pull himself together but he was fighting a losing battle. "What did you do to me, ooman!?"
I can ask the same thing.
Rory huffed with a smirk. "I figured you would try to hybridize yourself so I brought a diffusing substance to break down your hybrid body. Never underestimate your opponent."
The Protector covers his face as soon as Hakr'ouh roared, filled with pain and anger. "You pauking ooman! I'll kill you!"
He charges right at us with blinding speed. The instinct to protect took over my body and I shoved Rory out of the way just as he shot a plasma blast right at Hakr'ouh. It misses and doesn't slow the attacker down. "Watch out!"
Rory gets out of the way just in time as Hakr'ouh rams me into the broken part of the stadium. My hand lets go of the sickle weapon as I screamed from the pain in my back once more. I wish I could have gotten away. The smell from his decaying body was disgusting. I turned slightly away so I wouldn't have to see the hand around my neck deteriorating. But his face was worse. His mandibles turned into soft string dangling from his mouth.
"I'll kill you both and violate your corpses! I will show no mercy!"
Hakr'ouh squeezed my neck and I gagged for air. My vision began to fade once more and I was certain that he wasn't going to hesitate to kill me. Some part of me wished I blacked out. His face turned into some twisted form of a blob monster. His skin barely held together in weak threads of tendons and ligaments. His red eyes held no more 'humanity' in them. Only that of a monster as he snarled.
Pauking Hell . . .
"Let her go!"
I saw Rory above with his wrist blades aimed for Hakr'ouh. Like any Yautja, he roared with such pride and fire in his scream. I was very proud of him at that moment. The small boy that I knew, in the beginning, was now a fierce warrior. I don't know why my mind went to that in such a situation but I felt content thinking about it.
Rory thrust his blades into the back of Hakr'ouh's chest, puncturing him. Although it missed his heart as I could tell, it allowed him to let me go. My body, having lost so much energy, dropped to its knees. I held my hands to keep from falling on my face but I couldn't move. Everything felt so numb.
But I was certain of the sound of Hakr'ouh's roar. "Die, ooman!"
I could barely make out what was happening but all I felt was horror at the sight. Hakr'ouh grabbed the end of Rory's wrist blades and held on tight, enduring the pain as his blood seeped through the cracks of his deteriorated skin and blades. Rory tried to pull it back but it wasn't going anywhere. To break free, Rory aimed his shoulder cannons right at him. But in an instant, one of Hakr'ouh's dreadlocks punctured his armor and through Rory's chest.
Time went slow as I heard Rory gagging behind the mask. There was no doubt that his heart got damaged or worse. Crimson blood sprayed all over the front of him, running down the dreadlocks before Hakr'ouh pulled it out. In a split second, Rory was slammed out of the way, landing a few meters away before stopping. He didn't move after that.
"RORY!"
My call fell in deaf ears. Anger filled me with an energy I thought I never had. Hakr'ouh still had his eyes on Rory in case he wasn't doing yet. I took that opportunity to make my move.
"HAKR'OUH!"
With all my might, I swung my legs until I got a roundhouse kick to his temple, knocking him out temporarily. I kicked him again in the stomach, forcing him to double over on his knees. I got to my feet, grabbed the sickle weapon on my side, and jumped on him like a tigress pouncing on her prey. Hakr'ouh stood no chance as I had the sickle across his throat.
This was my chance to kill him. In these few seconds, I can end this war once and for all. But my mind was making second guesses for some reason. Why?
Hakr'ouh smirked, coughing as the drug Rory gave took its toll, slowly reducing him back to his old and weak form as he would call it. "Do it. Kill me."
I gritted my teeth like a cackling hyena. I wanted to kill him so badly but the hesitation was still there. For a few seconds, which felt like longer than that, I closed my eyes. I could hear voices and see people whom I missed for so long. It broke my wharf but also made me stronger. I know what I have to do.
I opened my eyes again, looking down at Hakr'ouh as he waited for the end . . . like any Yautja wanted. A true death to end everything.
You'll do the right thing . . .
The hesitation was gone and I brought the blade of the sickle down on him.
Hello Everyone!
Sorry for the last posting. My work has been hectic lately and editing this chapter was a pain in the neck but I hope all of you will love it.
Hakr'ouh has finally lost his mind.
I think it's combinations of his troubled past mixed with the fact that he was losing this war and his ideals of a perfect Yautja world. He became such a horrid beast. So it's horrible and awesome when Rory comes to the rescue and gets Hakr'ouh. But now, he got injured pretty badly. Will he survive?
And what is Anya's hesitation? The next chapter will surely be the one that connects the past to the present. I'm sure all of you will love it! ;))))
Find out what happens when Chapter 42 is posted next week (Friday or Saturday at the latest) unless changes are posted on Instagram.
THE END IS COMING! :DDDD
Thank you to Anonymous-E, NeverNeverLady, Mariah, Guest, and IanAlphaAxel for the reviews on Chapter 40. Your opinions matter to me. And I hope I hear from more readers.
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