Author's note: I was hoping I'd get more done, but apparently I overestimated myself, this will be my last chapter for a while, sorry.
Warning: Scar's POV, good-byes, brief mention of Yautja home world based off what we see in AVPR, a switch to Lex's POV, cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers with apologies in advance.
Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Aliens/Predators and never will.
Haven
As Scar looked down at him home planet his heart ached slightly with homesickness as it did with all the young warriors. Being so close gave many of them the idea to leave just for a little bit to see their families, but to do so would mark them as runaways, and runaways were sentenced to death. The only reason they had come so close to home was because of Dice, her daughter Air, and Glaive. The three were returning home now and the family stood at the pods sharing good byes.
Dice purred remorse fully, and uncovered Air's face for the boys to see one more time before they left and embraced them. When she reached Lex who had also shown up to say good bye, she purred and ruffled her hair which now had beads dangling in it similar to the traditional Yautja beading. Lex shook her shoulder gently and kissed the top of the pup's head wishing her a strong and healthy life.
Glaive was both ecstatic to be going home, and extremely unhappy. He too was homesick and in desperate need of his mother's less strict attention, but on the other hand he'd begun to really enjoy the life on the ship and looked forward to being a hunter like the rest of his family.
The youngest male hugged his brothers and father, chirping excitedly about when they'd meet again, making them promise to tell him everything that happened. Glaive made Lex swear she wouldn't die like Dart had told him she would and refused to let go of her legs for a while.
Scar tapped his brother's shoulder and leaned down, growling softly at Glaive and handing him a necklace with a small finger bone attached as a fair well gift. Scar's eyes flitted to their father for a moment, but once he was sure that Crusade wasn't in hearing distance he said in English, "Gi'v dem hell fo'R mie kiid." He clasped Glaive's shoulder tight, repeating a phrase he'd found in his list of common Earth sayings.
Glaive nodded enthusiastically with a look on his face that made the human woman nervous for the women of the clan he was going to be left with, but Lex giggled anyway. Scar was too old for such childish mischief himself, but he still had the twinkle of mayhem in his eyes.
Finally the good-byes were over. Scar watched his siblings and niece climb into the pod which after a few moments launched toward the golden planet. Cities were visible from this distance but mostly the planet was covered with dense forests.
Scar stayed by the window looking at his home world as it vanished away. Lex stood at his side, she had a nostalgic look on her face she as she remembered doing the same as they had left Earth behind. Wrath approached them, growling that they should be in the Kehrite training for the final trial.
The planet which the trial would take place was not too far from the Yautja home world, and wouldn't very long to reach at all, but all questioned Youngbloods were cautioned not to waste the time they still had to prepare themselves. Scar nodded, Lex took his arm and they headed that way.
Time at last came when the planet of the final trial would begin, the elders gathered the Youngbloods, Lex counted at least twenty which were being questioned about their marks, among them, besides herself, Scar, Dart and Tool were present. This was the first time she had seen Tool without Strike nearby and the albino looked positively horrified. He seemed to be trying to take comfort from Dart, but the other Yautja just ignored him.
"Listen!" Wrath roared, his voiced carried the best of the three elders so he was given the honor of instructing the Youngbloods, "You all know the Kainde Amedha Chiva is the test to prove oneself as a warrior, but you…" He waved his arm to indicate them all, "All of you are under question about weather or not you deserve that honor you have earned. Perhaps you came back barely alive, or maybe you were put on a team where you had others looking after you instead of relying on your own skill." He appeared to be looking right at Tool when he said that. "Regardless of why you are here, the goal is simple…"
At this point Javelin took over, "The planet you see before you is home to an intelligent race of bipeds capable of many things, even communication with our kind." His eyes narrowed and he raised his voice to be sure that everyone would hear his next words, "They are not what we are hunting." That made clear his voice lowered again, "Intelligent and strong as these creatures are, there is another beast this world accommodates, the locals live in fear of it. Your mission will be to track one down, and kill it. You will operate as a team." He emphasized and turned to Crusade so the chief could finish.
"In a way this creature is as dangerous as the hard meat. It is strong, fast, and smart; the only reason the hard meats are considered more so is because they swarm in huge packs, this beast is solitary, only living in groups during mating season and while raising young." He stamped his Ki its-pa on the ground, "We shall join you on this hunt for observation only, you are on your own otherwise. If you are still alive when the beast is slain you will have proven yourself…Is that understood?"
Roars of agreement rose up. Excited battle cries sound. Lex raised her arms shouting as well. She had a sick feeling in her stomach; she was terrified out of her mind at the thought of this hunt, she waved her arms to hide the fact that they were shaking uncontrollably with fear and doubt. But at the same time her heart raced with the Predator's contagious excitement. The elders were shouting words of encouragement that Lex could barely hear over the roars of the Youngbloods, and at last the crowd began to disperse as they all went back to their private chambers to collect their favorite weapons and say farewells to their friends, in case this was their last time seeing them.
On her way out Lex bumped into Strike. The green Yautja growled and pulled her to the side, out of eyesight and turned to her with a request, "Will you keep an eye on T'uul?" He asked.
"Uhh…" she had no idea why Strike would ask something like this of her.
"Please, I don't want him to get hurt- or worse, and I don't trust Dahrt." He said.
"Why me? Can't you ask someone else?" She asked using gestures, as well as lowering and raising her tone, hopping to get across her meaning.
Luckily Strike was smart, and caught the gist of it, "You are stronger than many think, ooman, now is your time to prove it, but you are not Yautja, you see things differently than we do. While the others may forget to look out for each other, I trust that you will put the good of the Clan above yourself." He explained. Lex didn't know how to respond to that, she was honored that Strike thought of her in such a good light, but wasn't sure if this was entirely a good thing, the green Yautja seemed to pick up on her confusion, "Just promise you'll make sure T'uul comes back alive. Will you?"
Hesitantly, Lex nodded, "Alright." She promised.
Strike shook her shoulder in appreciation, and let her leave as he continued on to find Tool and Lex returned to her quarters to gather her things. As she strapped her weapons on to her armor she thought about the many relationships she had seen among the Yautja. The brotherhood Crusade, Javelin, and Wrath shared; a friendship that could become that way between Scar, Dodge and Burn, then her own feelings for Scar. She thought about what a contrast Dart and his gang were compared to these. That was what they were really, a gang, not friends. Tool worshipped Dart for some reason; Thug was some sort of lackey who followed Dart for no distinguishable motive. The albino and the green skinned Yautja were different though, they had a real friendship between them.
Thinking deeper into this, Lex decided that Strike and Tool were actually probably gay.
A horn sounded summoning the Youngbloods to the pods where they would be placed in teams off five to reach the planet surface together. The elders stayed together. Lex was put on a team with Scar, Tool, and two Yautja named Blitz and Dread. The pods were small and made to self destruct if anything were to go wrong. It was a few minutes of intense silence before the elders gave the signal for the launch.
If there was ever a roller coaster that could top the feeling off being shot down to a planet at an incalculable rate, Lex had never been on it, and never wanted to. Her ears began to ring, and her stomach did somersaults. She resisted the urge to scream and held tight to her chair, biting her lip. The decent slowed down suddenly, almost like a skydiving parachute opening, and yes, Lex had the necessary experience to make that observation. Slowed as it was, the pod continued to fall at a speed that Lex feared would mean the craft would explode when it hit the planet surface, which was coming up quickly.
She shut her eyes and braced herself. The landing was hard and she felt herself get knocked back. The pod continued to shake for a few moments even after the landing was complete. Loud booms and other rumbles informed them that other had landed as well. At last someone opened the doorway, and sunlight seeping. One at the time, the team got to their feet, and exited onto the surface.
The moment her feet touched the solid ground Lex felt dizzy and tore her bio-helm from her face, vomiting all over the sand. This might have been embarrassing, but Lex was comforted by the fact that she was not the only one who got sick. At least six other Yautja threw up and many of them swayed where they stood, and even Javelin clutched his abdomen like he was ready to barf.
For a while they stayed where they were gathering themselves and counting heads. One team was unaccounted for, there was a crater not far from the others with the missing pod, it was badly damaged, and a fire burned on the end, five bodies were trapped in the craft, not attempting to free themselves, so they were presumed dead.
Lex turned around to look at the world before her. It was a vast desert, already she could feel herself drying up. Behind them, there was a dome, and a city within, probably the race of intelligent beings the elder had spoke of, but everywhere else there was only sand. Lex switched vision modes searching for any signs of life out in the dunes.
The Youngbloods gathered, growling to each other, before the group unanimously moved forward. They traveled in silence and stealth, all of them cloaked. It did not take long for the heat of the desert to slow the pace. Lex hated the heat and to herself cursed the Yautja for stalking prey that lived in such a place, but glancing around she noticed that none of them seemed happy either. The Yautja liked humidity- wet jungles, not dry wastelands. Lex found consolation in the fact that she wasn't the only one suffering.
The sun blared above them, but the mesh wiring on their bodies' regulated temperature which would keep them from overheating in this place, or freezing in another. Still, the sun burned their skin, and the Predators paused for a break everyone in a while. The sun started to sink towards the horizon, the Elders called that camp should be made. As the Youngbloods prepared for the coming night Lex tracked down Javelin, she hadn't seen any sign that anything could live out here and wanted very much to know what they were looking for.
Javelin was with Wrath and Crusade, the elders acknowledged her approached and invited her to speak, "Well," She started, "You said we were here to catch a beast that the locals live in fear of, what exactly is it that we are hunting?"
The elders looked at each other. Wrath played a recording he had made many hunts ago. The voice was male, one of the natives, his voice sounded terrified, "T-tik-pyak! Tik-pyak! Mi-to-tlal!" The recording ended with a scream and a horrible bellow that got the attention of the whole camp.
"Tik-Pyak," Javelin repeated, "The Deathworm."
Author's End Note: Told you, cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. I'm sorry I have to quit here. I'll try to get that laptop, but I can't promise I'll be able to update at all until September. Please review anyway, hopefully when I do get back to this Ya'all won't be sick of waiting.
Editor's Note: Grah, that's the one boon of summer, we lose our only constant access to the internet, really try to be patient, something may come up so the story will continue, or it may not, but we'll do our best to keep it up.