Chapter 21
You Ugly Mother
(Kanani POV)
I got two words for you.
New.
Fuckin'.
York.
Ok, ok, so that's technically three words, but still, I can't believe we're actually here.
Ah, New York, New York… I've never actually seen it before. Amazing place. Too bad we're not here as tourists.
Yeah, we're in New York. This is where the third base is. I still can't believe it. WHY would anyone put such dangerous, horrible creatures THIS close to such a populated city? Are they TRYING to start an apocalypse?
I won't lie. I've got a bad feeling about this one. Spiky decided that Aunt Lex can't come. With her arm bummed out, it was decided she'd better stay with mom. And frankly, I agree. No need for her to bust her other arm, or worse...
Therefore, I am the only gal on this mission. Talk about awkward.
As we fly over the city, invisible to the naked eye and clothed eye (however that works. Let's just say the ship is completely invisible.) I sit back, barely listening as Spiky outlines the plan with the Marines. I snort as a scent leaks into my nose.
It's Psycho.
Damn, he's not making this whole keep-your-scent-under-control thing easy. I want him so bad, it's not funny.
I look at him hazily, thinking ironically to myself, "I'M supposed to keep HIM out of trouble? Lord in heaven save us…"
But I've got to wait before I make any moves. I stand up, abruptly, as the techie- Daniel, I think- reports, "There. Right there."
We look out the window. Thankfully, it's not IN New York city, but on a dock, near the Hudson Bay. He's pointing to this decrepit building, which looks like it used to be an observatory. I frown, thinking this over as he mutters, nearly to himself, "I hope this ship is invisible to military sonar detection etc… "
I snort as I respond directly to him.
"Dude, these guys have been around since, what, forever? Not enough people know about them cause we can't freakin' detect them when they're on the prowl. And I only heard of 'em cause Belle happened to escape the Beast's castle."
They give me a blank stare.
Fucking idiots.
"I only know about them cause someone I know found out about them. Savvy?"
"Oh-hhh…" The crazy guy, Retch, grins. "So, you really are just a kid huh? Could'a fooled me, with your, ahem, MAGNIFICENT size and-"
WHAM!
Oh wow. Psycho just slapped him upside the head, easily knocking him into the wall.
My hero.
I can't believe that BASTARD went there!
My wings flare slightly as the others get all defensive, Mitch growling, "The fuc-"
"DON'T. EVEN." I growl, allowing smoke to curl from my nostrils as I take a menacing stance, my fists curled hard. "If you guys are going to act like a bunch of stupid assholes, then damnit, you'll get treated like assholes!"
The leader, who they call Chief, seems to mull this over as he looks from me to Psycho sharply.
"Retch, do us a favor and shut the fuck up. YOU, Hybrid-" He turned to me- "You'd best stand down. He's only kidding with you."
"Right. And I'm the queen of England. Sorry, but I'm not going to put up with his BULL shit. Besides, I've already got ONE pervert as an ally, I don't need two."
Psycho looks confused, though he's chuckling a little. Retch coughs as he recovers slowly from the hit, backing away from Psycho, he mutters something about "Sensitive freaks".
Oh please.
Spiky growls, as he stands to his full height, bristling. Man, it got so quiet, so fast, you'd think he'd just killed someone to grab that kind of attention.
Chief stands, reporting, "We're going to need all the stealth you can offer for this lab. It's not in the middle of the city but we still can't afford to be seen. Of course, people will notice when we blow it up, but so long as they don't know we did it, the government can cover it up anyway they want to."
I scowl.
"That just completely boosted my morale for the American government."
Man, maybe that was a bad thing to say. I'm thinking this as the big guy, Blake, stiffens, his arms flexing as he gives me a look.
"Girl, you'd best watch your mouth. The only reason you're not dead yet is cause you're just a stupid kid."
I growl in a low tone, "You know what? I got kidnapped by people who are HIDING on USA soil. NO one saw THAT coming, DID THEY? And furthermore, YOU guys didn't bust me out of that damned lab, my partner in crime there an' I did." I nod curtly towards Psycho as I growl, in my pissed tone- "So DON'T call me stupid."
"And I have a name-" I add, my breath heaving as my emotions swell- "I'm called Kanani! Not Kid, not Hybrid, and certainly NOT BITCH!" I shout.
A hand lands on my shoulder. Gentle but firm with claws just barely reminding me of how ugly things can get if I don't control myself.
"Enough fighting. Sound much like squabbling pups." Spiky growls quietly, adding to the soldiers in a rough voice, "Am NOT reassured in your ability to help."
The chief nods, but as he opens his mouth, Retch opens his.
"Right. So when do we land this big bitch?"
I see Spiky stiffen at the word "Big." And I swallow hard as I move quickly, nearly mistiming my grab as I and Psycho both intervene. Spiky is all-out ready to kill Retch.
As am I, but that's just not going to sit well with the rest of these guys and the last thing we need is fucking MUTINY.
At this moment, a sharp, neat little laser beam blasts from the side of the ship, nicking Retch's arm just right, causing the marine to give a short, rather unmanly yelp.
Spiky stops short and seems to smirk, as he stands down, his breath heaving and his dreadlocks cresting just a bit as he clenches his fists, flexing the HELL out of his damn huge arms.
"Lesson learned?" He snickers.
He knows something I don't, obviously.
"HOW THE FUCK DID-" Retch starts, when he's cut off, thank God.
"RETCH! For the love of your mamma, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Chief yells at him angrily.
Mitch is looking like he'll either go trigger-happy on us, or wet his pants again. I'm betting on the latter.
Man he stinks bad. Guess he couldn't find a way to wash off his own piss off...
Chief continues harshly. "Now you ALL fucking know that we don't have the luxury of screwing up! We get to the lab, blow it up, and move on to the next. CAN WE ACCOMPLISH THAT WITHOUT YOU BOZOS FUCKING AROUND?"
"YES SIR." All four of the marines reply. Kemp is sitting in the corner. He's been a very good guy so far, other then the occasional suspicious glare. I kinda like him. No, not like LIKE him. I just think he's ok. For a person. He's not all that much older then me, and he's pretty amusing.
I'm still hot under the collar for Psycho, in case you're getting ideas. But unless Kemp does something extremely stupid, I think I'll add him to my list of allies.
These moronic bitches that call themselves marines, however…
If I could, I'd fry every last son-of-a-gun of em.
8~8~8~8~8~8~8
(Chief Jonathan's POV)
"There's an underwater opening. If we drop into the water, we can access that opening fairly easy. It's a sewer opening, fairly normal security, but I've got a few tools that should take of any extra surprises."
Daniel has been using the laptop that one of the women, Lex, grabbed from the first lab, working his magic to wring as much information as he can from it. So far, it's not enough to give us a very good idea of what will go down, but at least we have the facility schematics.
He looks towards the ETs, addressing them directly for a moment, as he continues.
"If you three take care of security and any other surprises they have waiting for us, we should do just fine until we hit the computer network. THAT room will be heavily guarded, not just by soldiers, but by weapons technology that will go off as soon as we start our infiltration."
At this moment we fly low over the city. I swallow hard. I grew up in New York. It's been a while since I've been here. For just a split second, I want to turn back. Cause if something goes wrong, I could easily, easily bring destruction on my own city. But if I don't do something about this thorn in New York's side, then the ET's will. And who knows what could happen?
My thoughts are interrupted when Retch shoots off his mouth at the Hybrid. And we're all surprised when the younger ET, who's NOT missing mandibles or an eye, smacks Retch into the side of the ship.
This is crazy. I can't believe how many times Retch has nearly compromised us by provoking one of the ET's. And if that's not bad enough, MITCH has to go on a hormonal rampage. I mean, I know the guy likes to sleep around, but NOT on a mission, for the love of Sweet Mary!
Focus, Captain. Focus. Breathe in, breathe out.
However, Goliath finally responds to a question I posed earlier.
"Will land ship a few klicks from Lab."
"But, that doesn't make much sense, if we-"
He offers up this intimidating growl that shuts me up. I've heard of these Predators, and I've read reports on what they can do, but coming face to face with one, especially one THIS big, is something else.
As soon as I shut up, he keeps talking.
"What is the easiest way in?"
Daniel stands up, his gear strapped on, his sniper rifle slung over his shoulder.
"There's no real easy way into the lab that my scanners could pick up. We'll have to play it by ear. Just get me to the main computer network, and I can shut them down… not to mention we might learn a thing or two from their own network. Once that's done, we pull back and watch the fireworks."
Goliath growls quietly as he appears to think through this.
"Too many things to go wrong."
"We know, big Guy. Thing is, we ARE the intelligence. Normally, you don't go in without information. But this time, we don't have a choice." Daniel tells him matter-of-factly.
He knows this already. But it doesn't mean he has to like it any more then we do.
With a growl, he reminds us, "Will not slow down for you."
"That's fine, Boss. We don't expect you to." I replied shortly. A short, rapid series of beeping from Daniel's scanner showed that we were at our drop-off location.
Time to battle it out, from the top to the bottom.
8~8~8~8~8~8
(Rosy POV)
Watching the security monitors, I scowled as Retch made that foul move, mouthing off about Spiky's ship. Before the good Captain of said vessel could retaliate by ripping Retch's limbs off, I activated a laser panel, nicking Retch and sending a hint; SHUT THE FUCK UP.
It worked like a charm. Lex, holding her arm, chuckled, "Nice move."
"Thank you. Spiky hasn't taught me everything, but I'm pretty sure what I don't know I can figure out for myself."
"God forbid it should come to that." Lex groaned.
I snorted.
"Come on! Really? Have you no faith in your little sister?"
She just looked at me, and then at the screen, at Kanani, and then back at me.
"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"
Lex chuckled as I fumed. She was just pissed cause she wasn't allowed to go with them on this mission. Scar was dead set against it, and so was Kanani, me and Spiky. Psycho was probably too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay much attention. Though I have to say, seeing him smack Retch for teasing Kanani made me feel that there was hope for him yet.
Psycho I mean, not Retch. No, that doofus is hopeless. Utterly and completely hopeless. I study the room again, my brows furrowed.
Kemp's in the corner, not saying a whole lot. His face is really tight, his jaw clenched. He looks unhappy.
You would be too if you had to put up with Mitch the Bitch and Retch the Stench. Huh, are they related? Their parents weren't thinking clearly when they named those two…
Back to reality. Lex leans back in her seat as she grumbles, "What the freak are we supposed to be doing again?"
"Guarding the ship."
"From WHAT? The neighborhood kids?"
"From the G.I. Joe wannabes down there."
She looks at the screen, and then up at me.
"Gotcha."
I sure hope so.
As I look back down at the screen, Spiky seems to turn, his head tilted bird-like, as he looks back into the camera… or whatever they call their recording devices. I gaze back, getting this eerie feeling that he can see me. And something twists in my gut.
Bring her back safely. Please.
8~8~8~8`8
(Spiky POV)
I've programmed commands to the ship to land a few klicks from the base. However, we will drop off at a close range first, as the oomans do not have the camouflage to travel such a distance in the midst of so many eyes.
This city… I have been here before. I do not understand how these oomans can stand to live so close together. The smells are rank, and though the city looks magnificent during the night, with its flashing lights and many buildings, during the day it is noisy and smelly.
Oomans do not smell all that good…
I grumble as I glance over at the Ooman named "Mitch." I still cannot pauk-de BELIEVE he wet himself IN MY SHIP.
My poor, dear friend…
I run my hand fondly over the ship's wall quietly before stepping forward, opening the ship's hatch, I look at my crew and temporary allies.
"Go."
The oomans are the first to jump, 20 feet into the water. Kha'bj-te and Setg'in are next, followed by Kanani, who looks over her shoulder as she dives.
I turn and tilt my head at the hidden recorder. Is Rosy there, watching this moment? No doubt she is worried for her pup.
I promise; I will bring her back to you safely.
I then jump, tapping the commands into my wrist console. The ship door closes and it leaves, to land elsewhere, where it will not be easily found.
I hit the water and start swimming, ducking under, I follow the others.
8~8~8~8~8
(Scar POV)
As we enter the water, I turn off my cloak as does Kha'bj-te. The water will affect it, and we can hide beneath the water well enough. The oomans all start swimming. Even with their equipment, they're strong and don't show any sign of weakness.
Pity.
I despise them all. Especially the pauk-head who wet himself in the Ship. As soon as this is over, I'm going to take his head off myself.
As we swim beneath the water, the entrance comes into sight. It's a large opening, with a metal grating covering it.
As we dive down towards it, the smallest ooman, Daniel, takes out a tool and sticks it onto the side of the tunnel-like opening. Water swirls around me as Daniel swims back, signaling to his team. The two idiots then take out their tools, sticking detonator-like objects to the tunnel. Foolishness.
Both I and Kja'bj-te swim up, pausing their work as we both work and rip the metal grating off. We back off, feeling smug, though we can't express it now. The other oomans enter, followed by Kanani and then I and Kha'bj-te. R'ka Thwei is last. He follows us, keeping an eye on us all.
As we swim, I feel my lungs burn. The space is crowded, forcing memories of an unwanted sort into my mind. I close my eyes and try to block them out. I try to think of Lex. I find my anchor in her, as always. Opening my eyes, I see that we have reached the surface of a network. Already, the oomans have crawled out of the water, into the tunnels that are not inundated with water.
"Where to now, Danny? And when do WE get to have fun?" Retch complains. Stupid ooman. Mitch growls as well, "The ET's are hogging all the attention."
"Who's attention? The fish?" Kemp growls as he adds in a spiteful tone, "Focus, Mitch, Retch. I know it's hard for you "special" forces, but come on."
Mitch growls threateningly.
I only grin approvingly beneath my mask. So I don't hate ALL the oomans. This one has spunk.
Daniel responds, after checking his source.
"We go straight, and then take the first right. There should be a ladder leading to the surface… or at least to the next level."
"Right. Straight we go." Kanani deadpans.
Kha'bj-te growls as he cloaks himself. R'ka has already cloaked himself apparently. I follow suit, just as Kanani cloaks herself. We then jog silently ahead. After all, our job is to take out the security. My scanners are ready and reading for ooman mines and other such traps. R'ka moves fast and silent, Kanani on his heels, not as quiet, though just as fast.
Suddenly, before I can react, the tunnel shifts, cutting Kha'bj-te and I off from the others. It turns, all the way, setting us on a completely different path. Kha'bj-te howls and I smack him on the shoulder, hissing, "Be silent! Do you want them to know exactly where we are?"
"They already do!" He growls back. But we do not know this for sure. I shake my head and switch my scanners. I see a ladder up ahead, leading into the level above us.
Kha'bj-te sees it too, as he darts ahead, without caution. I growl low, clicking in annoyance. He only snorts as he climbs and it's then we realize it's too small for us. Kha'bj-te growls as he jumps back and then fires his plasma cannon. The hole, which used to be designed for Oomans and not Yautja, has been remodeled.
I follow him, squeezing in a little easier. I've lost muscle, but this only angers me as I remember why I am here. Why I am half-blind. I growl.
There is no comfort in knowing my scars are from oomans purposefully taking and cutting me open. Far better that I had gotten my injuries in battle…
I shake these thoughts from my head as the scent of an ooman hits us both. Kha'bj-te trills, almost inaudibly, as he tenses. I put a hand on his shoulder and growl silently.
"The first kill is mine." I hiss.
He looks at me before sullenly nodding, backing up as I take the lead, moving quietly and fluidly.
The first ooman to enter my vision is shaking badly. He's scared. As he should be. Silent, I move, slashing his throat with my wrist blades before turning around the corner. PAUK!
The tunnel is full of men, armored, with better cover and therefore harder to take out, and they are more heavily armed. Kha'bj-te comes from behind me, despite my warning growl.
That pauk-head!
The oomans hear him coming and open fire. He jumps clear of their fire, landing in their midst, he grabs the oomans with the bigger weapons and smashes them into the wall. The smell of blood breaks into the air, as I follow his lead. Pauk-head… his blood is tainting the floor, from bullets that thudded into his leg. So much for stealthy kills.
As I'm thinking this, I'm shocked when Kha'bj-te turns and is immediately set upon by a kiande amedha. It shrieks as it attacks him, ignoring the weaker prey, the oomans.
I growl as I run forward, grabbing one of the dead oomans, I use his body like a club knocking away the kiande amedha before blasting it with my canon. Kha'bj-te quickly gets to his feet, growling angrily, he hurls himself forward, without another thought it seems.
"Kha'bj-te! Pauk-head!" I growl as I try to get him to stop, to consider.
But no. Already, we have rushed headlong into another trap.
Ten kiande amedha are crawling towards us on the wall, all of them hissing and dangerous. Strangely enough… their movements are not natural. Not nearly as fluid as they should be and why have they not cocooned this hallway with the bodies of the oomans?
It's then I remember.
These are part of the abominations that we are to take out.
I have no time to wonder at their strange behavior. Kha'bj-te and I ready our cannons, our arm blades extended as all ten of the kiande amedha leap to the attack.
8~8~8~8~8
(Kemp POV)
I don't know why Daniel didn't tell us about this, but the tunnels are all rigged. No sooner did we set foot in the tunnels, when they shifted, setting us in different directions. I feel like a lab rat and suddenly, a rush of empathy for the dragon girl hits me. Her and her mama. Hell, even the predators. They were stuck in the labs too. Not the big one, the two smaller ones.
I growl. These bastards are going down. I may be just the medic, but I'm not unarmed, and I'm not useless. I'm going to kill every motherfucker I lay eyes on. As we try to figure where to go from here, there's a loud shout. We all hear the security guards before they actually show up. And then, we're under the heaviest fire I've ever known.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Retch bellows as he slings out his favorite BMFG, letting loose a HUGE hailstorm of bullets at our attackers, giving Mitch the opportunity to unhinge a flash grenade from his belt, throwing it just in front of the security guards.
The rest of us turn away as the bang goes off. I hear the cries of some of the agents, either blinded or injured from the impact of the flash.
Retch and Mitch are enjoying themselves though, as they dish out their favorite weaponry and crack corny jokes in the midst of our life and death scenario.
Suddenly, though, the security guards draw back.
This isn't normal. I growl low.
"Guys, heads up. We probably should have kept one of the ET's with us."
"Aw, you scared, Mario?" Mitch snickers.
Bozo. I'm proven right as Daniel speaks up, "Guys, we've got xenos. These ones are definitely radio controlled."
"What do YOU know about xenos?" Retch frowns as he hefts his BMFG, dull eyes brighter with anticipation.
"More then you'd care to find out, genius."
"Daniel, can you hack the frequency they're using to take control of these xenos?"
"Not until I get to the mainframe."
….
"Oh shit!" Blake swears as the first xeno makes its appearance, clinging to the ceiling. I gulp as it hisses and shrieks, moving faster then it should, with its massive size.
I guess we should be grateful it's not a hybrid.
I back up, to let my teammates do their job, as they open fire on the motherfucker. I've never seen one these things up close. It's as hideous as one can expect an agent of death to be. Black, shiny carapace fanged, drool flies from its mouth as it dodges the bullets, but then, Mitch pulls up his flame thrower. It's small, and you have to get in close to-
Mitch runs, jumping, just as the Xeno leaps at him. The roar of the fire is dimmed by the xeno's shriek.
"DIE, YOU FUCKING E.T!" Mitch roars, grinning like an idiot. His grin freezes as we all hear the echoing cries of more Xenos.
"Hey, John Wayne, any more tricks in that magic hat of yours?" I growl, tapping my head as I make sure both my guns are loaded, cocking them both back.
Time to go to work.
We find out very quickly that the acidic blood in these hybrids has been reduced, at least by 45%. It's very weird, the acid is much slower to eat whatever it touched. I'm guessing this is because of the microchips?
All at once, though, we find the ladder. Unfortunately, that's exactly where the Xenos are coming from.
Retch yells, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Oh shit GET DOOOOWWWWN!
The fuckhead throws a grenade up the hole. We all hear and FEEL the explosion. We also hear the shrieks of a million Xenos.
AND… the lights flicker and then go out.
Damnit.
We're screwed. Fucked, actually.
Why mince words?
"Guys? We're fucked," Retch mutters.
"NO SHIT SHERLOCK! HOW'D YA FIGURE OUT THAT?"
Sometimes, I should really think before I talk.
8~8~8~8~8~8
(Kanani POV)
Well… shit. I'm by myself. Spiky and I were separated. Apparently, I wasn't as close to him as I should have been. I look around, my venom glands working overtime. Did I mention I drool venom when I'm really nervous? It doesn't happen often. But I feel really scared right now. I have no idea where the hell I am… or how I'm going to get the fuck out of here.
No time to be a coward bitch. You're not a little girl anymore, you're a badass dragon, and besides, you have people counting on you. Spiky, Scar, momma, Aunt Lex and… and Psycho. Yeah, him. Especially him. You have to grow up.
And something responds, "I'm no coward. I'm the daughter of Rosalie Woods, who's never scared of gravity. And I'm the daughter of a dragon. Malachi, my mom's guardian angel. I'm not going to dishonor them."
I stiffen as I switch the vision in my mask. With a growl, I start running. I don't see a way up, not yet, but I'm going to find one. As I run, I wonder dimly just how closely they're monitoring us. I skid to a stop as I come to a sudden end of the sewers. What do I mean by that?
Well, you see…
There's a line. On my side, sewer tunnels. On the opposite side, it's like… I'm not sure how to even describe it. But I know it must be part of the lab. I growl low in my throat as I walk forward, careful of traps, security trips, anything that could harm me.
Tensed, I look around, reflecting quietly. At this moment, though, the power goes out. I blink, grateful for the mask. I switch my vision. Damn. Where am I?
I walk forward, my tail swishing, my heart pounding in my ears as I look around. There's a ladder that leads further up. I start climbing.
My heart nearly stops for a moment, as I hear a loud, distant crackling sound, like ice being broken, followed by the most chilling noise I've ever heard.
Remember the bugs? The Xenos? I mean, that's pretty much why we're here. Well, they shriek. Loud. And hiss and drool and other… unseemly things, like interrupting me when I'm trying to make out with Psycho.
Try that sometime. Making out with a Yautja while fighting off Xenos. It's not easy. Not pretty, either.
Back to ugly reality, cause now I'm getting hot thinking about all that…
Ok, you know the sound that… you probably don't. The Yautja… Psycho and Scar and Spiky the Grouch all make this weird, rapid clicking noise. It can sound hollow or guttural, depending on their mood.
The noise I'm hearing at this time in my life?
It's a shriek, followed by this guttural, harsh clicking, and then a loud, high pitched roar, as more glass, or ice breaks in what sounds like an explosion. I hiss, quickly finishing up the climb, ready to face anything.
Except there's nothing there… except an apparently broken cage… and the scent of which I've never smelled before. It's similar to the rich, heady scent of the Yautja, and yet interlaced and melded with the cold, deathly smell of a Xeno.
Dear gawd what am I dealing with?
As I look about, I'm suddenly struck. Hard. From behind.
"OH SHIIIIIIIIT!" I scream before I hit the wall. I get to my feet, but not before the bastard is ON me, roaring.
I'm fully prepared for anything the lab can dish out.
Except this bastard.
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?
8~8~8~8~8~8
(Lex POV)
Rosy's nervous. She's trying not to show it, but it all comes out with two softly whispered words.
"Something's wrong."
I look at her and gently take her hand.
"Rosy, they'll be fine. They knew what they were getting into."
With a haunted look, she asks, in a low, mournful tone, "Did they? I feel fucking useless, sitting here. I want to be with Kanani, I need to make sure she's safe."
Her voice cracks.
I squeeze her hand.
"Rosy, no matter what, you're not alone."
She looks at me, as my words seem to sink in.
And suddenly, there's this weird understanding that passes between us. We've both been through heartache, and we both face the same heartache if they fail. No matter what, though, we'll face it together, as sisters.
I swear, I'll never just up and leave her like I did before. Never again.
But I do wonder. It's been nearly two hours since they left. What is going on?
8~8~8~8~8~
(R'ka POV)
I growled low, as I realized that we walked right into a trap. With a growl, I tensed, as I smelt oomans. Many of them. Already cloaked, I moved, swiftly, as I caught sight of them. Their heat signatures blazing bright with fear. I stilled any hiss of anticipation, any clatter or trill of delight as I moved before they even know it, I'm in their midst.
Blood stains the ground below my feet, as I slice through two oomans before throwing them into their companions, throwing a razor disk so it cuts the throats of four others, as I turn, my fist reaching out to crush the skull of the ooman preparing to shoot me. I jump, using the wall to shift my weight as I flip over the group of oomans. I then use my wrist blades to behead all four of them.
There are more yet. Why did they send so many oomans?
My suspicions have been awakened. Something is wrong. They're trying to distract me. But why?
At this moment, the lights flicker and go out. I'm able to finish off the oomans far more easily. Whatever they intended, their plan has backfired. For now, we can see.
And they cannot.
I run, switching the visions in my mask until I get a layout of this level I'm in. I make out a ladder, leading up to the tunnel above me. But when I reach the ladder, I realize something.
The hole's too small for me. I scowl as I type in a command into my wrist console. Armoring covers that fist and as I swing upward, a sonic blast vibrates the cement ceiling above me, shattering the rocky substance and providing a hole big enough for me to crawl through.
As I stand, looking around warily, I hear, faintly, the ooman soldiers. They are near. Where are my brothers? And Kanani?
For a moment, I worry for her. And then, I realize I will do nothing for her by worrying. I move, fast, as I decide to locate the ooman soldiers first. They are the most vulnerable. And unless I am mistaken… whatever was being held captive here in this facility will now be free. Unless it is caged, but even then, computerized locks will be a problem.
Paya, there is trouble coming.
8~8~8~8~8~8~8
(Kanani POV)
TAKE THAT! TAKE THAT! TA-CRAP!
I dodge to the side as it swings its bony tail at me, hissing dangerously. I've tried my venom, ice, and fire! Nothing is beating this sucker. I don't want to use my plasma cannons either. The fire isn't hurting it, but it does drive it back, if only for a moment.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" I scream as it tries to leap onto me again. Damn, took FOREVER to get the bastard off.
Oh. Yeah. The bastard in question is not a dragon hybrid. It IS a hybrid though… of a Yautja and Xeno. It's larger then me, slightly larger then Psycho even.
Can anyone say "creeeeepyyyyy"…
…
Right now, what I'm saying is "DAMNITAHELL!" as it corners me.
Damn it!
WHY did I let it corner me?
WHY?
But before it can pin me, I panic, grabbing a filing cabinet and throwing it, as hard and as fast as I can, at the same time, releasing a barrage of fire.
The filing cabinet turns red, hitting the thing, the metal doesn't bounce… it sticks. The hybrid is stunned, momentarily, and then, I unleash more fire, moving closer-
Wait. The filing cabinet… it's melting, forming a sort of coating over the hybrid. And idea squeezes through my head as I snarl, focusing all I got on the filing cabinet, ignoring the smell of smoke, growling as I ignore it's growling hiss and it's shrieking clatter.
The hybrid goes quiet, eerily so, but I can't see through the fire. When I stop, the filing cabinet is gone, a mere coating over the hybrid, which is STILL moving.
Then, I hiss, ice shooting from my mouth. First time I'm spitting ice for this long. Smoke and steam hisses like a thousand spitting cobras as the metal cools and hardens, trapping this weird Hybrid.
All except one of its fingers, which twitches. I growl. Now what to do with this motherfucker?
Hmm…
I growl as I walk towards it and try to grab it. I grunt and strain, finally picking the bastard up, I turn and take the creature with me. Yeah, yeah, say what you will, THIS bastard is going ON MY FUCKING WALL, even if I have to battle through a million xeno nightmares like him.
I didn't get my ass kicked for nothing, is all I'm saying.
8~8~8~8~8~8~8
(Kemp's POV)
"Wait, what?"
I don't get it.
Daniel doesn't want to have to explain it all over again, but he's doing so anyways.
"Mitch there took out the generators. But it hasn't affected the frequency that's controlling the xenos. So, I'm going to see if I can find the frequency on this little pad here, and if I do, we won't have to worry about the controlled creatures. It would be NICE if we could somehow restart the generators, cause one of the things I wanted to do was LOOK THROUGH THEIR COMPUTER TO GET MORE INFORMATION." He's not happy with Mitch.
Mitch scowls, "I didn't see any of you pansies doing shit to try to think through what we needed to do to kill that little horde of bugs."
"YOU didn't THINK at all!" Chief growls. Man, I've never seen Chief so pissed off before. Then again, I haven't been on this team for that long either. I'm patching a wound on Blake and bandaging Retch's head. The fuck-head bashed it on the manhole edge, coming up, if you can believe that.
I only pat him roughly on the head, "Careful, kiddo, we can't afford to be smart like you."
He only glares and shoots me the finger. Wow. Mr. I'm-Fucking-Crazy got attitude to go with it.
Daniel's hacking into the frequency, when suddenly, the power sputters back on.
Oh…Fucking….Snap.
We're fucking surrounded. And… somehow, I don't think Daniel can hack the frequency in time.
At this moment, however, there's a loud blast, and Goliath comes thundering in, not even giving us a wave, he starts gunning down the aliens, which start their attack. Blake stands up as he takes his gun and starts firing, along with Mitch and Retch. Chief's watching Daniel's back as our techie sweats, his fingers flying fast.
Then, the other two ET's break through the opposite wall… or shoot through it, actually.
I don't think it's going to be enough.
8~8~8~8~8~8
(Lex POV)
Rosy suddenly stands up.
"Lex, my leg is healed."
She walks. I stare. That was fast. But come to think of it, my arm's feeling better too.
She growls.
"I can't stay here. Something's happening!"
I nod.
"Let's go."
"Someone should stay and watch the ship."
"Damnit. You're going to make me stay, aren't you?"
She nods.
"Rosy, no, I'm coming with you."
She frowns.
"But-"
"I think Spiky will understand. Besides, can't you activate the ship's defensive system to be automatic or something?"
She thinks for a moment and then turns to the ship's console.
Within minutes, we're both armored up and leaving the ship. It's a long walk to the lab. But we're cloaked, and there's hardly anyone out. We're busting a move.
8~8~8~8~8~8
(Kanani POV)
I growl as I drag my prisoner along. I sincerely hope it's comfortable, cause I'm miserable. But I'm not going to let it go.
I pause.
Yautja.
Four of them.
Not my Yautja.
I wish they were though. I'm dying for a whiff of Psycho.
That sounded wrong
I keep going, listening, and wondering what they're doing here. I hear sounds of a battle going on, not too far away. Oh, you should know, the lights came back on.
So why am I so freaking nervous? Well, maybe not nervous, I'm shaking, but I think it's adrenaline.
C'mon, bastards, step out. What did they get you for?
Suddenly, one of them starts chuckling. I frown. What the fuck?
And then, one starts talking to the other. They think I can't understand them, I guess. I can't see them, they're hiding well, but I smell them. Do they think… oh.
They think I'm fucking prey.
"You're not fucking scaring me, you overgrown sons of a cockroach. You think I'm going to wet myself cause you think I'm prey? How do YOU know YOU'RE not the fucking prey?"
They must have been captured, like Psycho and then released when the generator blew, like this other thing.
I put down the hybrid and growl, hissing as I decloak.
"C'mon, boys, don't be shy. I ain't yer average dame," I smirk as I finally make out where they're at.
Oh. Shit. They're hanging out in the rafters.
And they accepted my invitation. Goody.
There's fucking four of them. All of them are about as tall as Psycho. Two of them are fucking HUGE in muscle mass.
"I'm not about to back down now."
"Should have run." One of them hissed.
"Little lizard got lost." another jibed.
I smirked.
"Oh, poor thing. Your mother must be worried sick."
Damnit, shut the fuck up!
Too late. They all come at me. What the hell? Isn't there some sort of- CRAP!- Honor thing with Yautja?
Guess not with these punks. I jump, into the air, flapping hard as I hang onto the rafters by my feet and tail, looking down at them I growl, "You can either help us destroy this lab so we can return you to where you belong, or you can die. Your choice."
"Who's we?" Mocked the biggest of them.
"Me, Ra'ka Fwey and his brothers." I respond, trying to pronounce Spiky's real name correctly. They recognize the name…
but not in a good way.
"Arbitrator." They hiss, growling.
I frown.
"Aren't Arbitrators like… heroes?"
They respond by attacking me.
Damn. I guess negotiations are over.
I release my fire, growling as I avoid direct hand to hand with these guys. The only way I can survive is if I can burn the hell out of them.
My fire sputters out.
DAMNIT!
I have no choice. I fly back to the rafters. I take aim. All four cannons fire.
I've got four new trophies.
I hop down. With a growl, I stuff my claws into the wounded spine of one and, with a tug and a grunt, I rip out what's left of the spine and the skull.
It's hard. Really hard. But I did it. I pulled out the others skulls. Why?
I want to give these bastard's heads to Spiky. They mocked him. I want him to know that I got these bastards. I defended his honor to the best of my ability.
I also want to prove that I know how to operate this cannon thing. It's freakin' AWESOME!
Oh damnit.
More luggage.
(sighs)
I grab a belt from one of the corpses and knot it around my waist, tucking the spines with their skulls into the belt. Then, I grab my living metal statue and I get the hell out of there.
I hear the battle, more clearly, and I have not the slightest amount of time to waste.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who got separated from the group. Cause that would suck. They're all going to chew my ass out for wandering off or some crap like that…
However… I'm not prepared for what I see.
8~8~8~8~8
(Kemp POV)
I growl as I assess this new situation.
Daniel DID manage to hack the sequence. He took control of the hybrids. And now, we have the ET's lined up against the wall, ready to kill them.
I don't like this. And I voice this.
"Sir, they helped us! We would not have made it HALF this fucking far if they hadn't-"
"SHUT UP, Mario!" Chief growls at me, looking at me coldly in the eye. He adds, "We're under orders."
"These orders are BULL shit and you know it."
What can I do? At least the kid's not involved-
"Spiky?"
Oh shit please tell me that's not-
"Spiky!"
"Scar!"
Lex and Rosy come from an adjoining room. I don't know HOW they managed to get here so fast… and HOW did their limbs heal so quickly?
No time for that now.
Lex runs and throws herself in front of Scar, who growls at her, grabbing her, he places her behind him, ignoring her pummeling as she screams, "You MOTHERFUCKERS! YOU CAN"T DO THIS! SCAR DAMNIT LET ME GO!"
Rosy stands right in front of Blake, who has the gun that's pointed at Goliath. She looks at us.
"Don't do this."
Chief's eyes harden and he growls, "Mario, shoot her."
I growl.
"No."
"Fine. Blake. Do it."
Blake cocks his gun,
"Wait." I swallow. My grip on my gun tightens. I hold it out, towards Rosy, before swinging it, bringing my other gun up as I shoot Blake and then Chief. Daniel's shot by one of the ET's (I didn't note which) as I shoot Retch.
The ET missing his mandible and eye leaps onto Mitch, growling as he knocks away the man's weapons, hissing, "Bad Blood!" as he severs the man's throat with his knife. He then rips Mitch's spine out from his back. I'm shaking. The xenos that were under Daniel's control remain stationary as they have no new orders, I guess. I pick up Daniel's controls and look up, as Goliath stalks towards me.
He growls.
"Well done."
I shake my head.
"Don't thank me. I'm rogue now. An enemy to my own country. I disobeyed my orders cause they weren't right. They weren't honorable."
Rosy looks a little worse for wear as she asks quietly, "Where's Kanani?"
"Here Mom."
Kanani was standing in the hole Spiky made. I don't know how long she'd been there -probably not very long, she looked mighty confused- and…
Shit. What the fuck was that thing she was carrying?
It looked like Goliath had the same questions. In fact… I think we all do.
What I've done is barely registering in my brain. I killed my teammates. I never liked them. They were ruthless. As far as I know, they had no family. Wait no… shit. Blake has a little brother. He talked about the little bugger. I remember that now.
I look at Kanani and her mother, whom I was ordered to shoot. Would I do it again?
Yes I would.
Blake had a choice. He could have defied the chief. He didn't.
My reasoning is not helping me very much.
At this moment, though, we all hear this hollow, piercing shriek.
It echoes, rebounds off the walls, and then… loud, ominous thumps. Like T-Rex in Jurassic Park.
Holy mother…
Something just broke through the floor from beneath us. It's big. It's ugly…
And it's a Xeno. With a crown.
I hear Kanani utter, "One Ugly Mother-"
It shrieks at us. A loud, agonizing noise that goes through your head.
I changed my mind. NOW we're fucked.
Hello my lovelies! I, ah, eh, I'm very sorry it's take me so long, but I hope this chapter makes up for it, I know it's a very long chapter. And all of you should know, Khalthar gave me a whole slew of ideas for this chapter. I DID write it out and fit the pieces together, but he gave me the foundation. So, Khalthar, Thank you SO MUCH for all your help and support!
SHOUT OUT: OH. MAI. GAWD. Guys, this is the most reviews I've ever gotten on a story. THANK YOU SO MUCH! *wipes at a tear* I feel slightly choked up. Thank you very much guys!
Silent Hunter: Oh yes, the plot thickens, does it not? XD Miss you much friend, thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you're doing well!
LynxbyLynx:Khalthar is good. Not sure how this story would have done without his help. as for the character juggling, I have no idea frankly O.O...
Lady Krystalyn:Hey! Thanks for the review, I hope this chapter is worth the wait as well. ^_^
midnight84118:I have so! In the... 8th chapters. I think... ? thanks for the feedback. :)
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To everyone, thank you so much for your reviews and support! Til next time!