Chapter XVI
Confrontation
Her message was clear, and I fear I know why she is so determined for me to be in her presence. I first heard the call as I watched over Orion while he fought off against my siblings in the hall alongside his other human companions. Watching them fight was troubling, but in the end, I still stood by Orion. She stopped us just before I entered the fray in order to try and save my Caretaker.
I ran now as fast as I could, and as I made my way through the facility, more and more of my siblings joined my side as we all made our way to Mother. In moments, we made our way to the outside of the facility, and for a second I stopped in my tracks. This was the first time I have been out, and while I knew I needed to move, I just couldn't bring myself to do so. The sight was unlike anything I had ever seen.
Thick dense jungle laid out as far as I could see. Large clouds darkened the sky and rays of sunlight pierced through their cover. The warm arm felt pleasant on my mesoskeleton as I stared at the horizon. So this is freedom, I thought as I looked on at the sight. I would have stayed there for hours if it wasn't for getting ripped out of my thoughts by more of my kin running past.
I shook my head to regain my focus on what was important. Mother. I once again lept onto the path and began to exert myself to the limit as I followed large pipes into the unknown in front of me. As I entered the thick foliage of the jungle, I lept from tree to tree and cut my way through hanging vines.
The journey was difficult to say the least, but I still pushed through to the best of my ability. It wasn't long before I made my way to a pipe system that we began to use once we were near the end of the jungle. The large pipes proved to be a very nice change of pace compared to the dense jungles. They were dark and straightforward, perfect for us to make our way to the nest.
With the new path ahead it gave me the perfect opportunity to begin to think of anything I could try to say to Mother. By now, I am certain she is aware of my mercy shown to Orion, and I fear it might just have enraged her. Not once in any of the memories that I have seen have a Xenomorph and Human ever worked together. As I let my mind dwell on it more and more, I soon began to feel worry fill my mind. There is no doubt that she will speak to me about him.
I had to soon focus on my surroundings as the pipe I used soon came to a sudden stop with multiple exits. As my dozen or so kin all chose their paths, I took the only one that none of them entered. As I crawled into a wide open room through a hole in the pipe, I looked around to see warm beams of light shining through a window concealed by shutters. In the room lay a grated floor and a large fan, and on the other side was a small vent.
Taking my choice, I went to the vent and crawled inside the tight space. A few turns found me under the room in the sewers. I was careful to stay out of the water and jumped to the ceiling as fast as I could. I immediately felt the presence of two human hunters. "Xenos don't like fire. This will flush them out." One of them said as they pulled out a heavy-looking weapon complete with pipes and a large vessel as well as a small flame on the front. I looked on with curiosity as they aimed at a small hole in the floor leading to more vents below.
I was suddenly filled with terror as a ferocious flame shot out of the device and consumed the vent with brilliant light. Ever so slightly I took a few steps back to ensure I wouldn't be spotted. After the soldier had burned away any rats hiding inside the vents, his compatriot chimed in. "Are you sure that's a good thing?"
Seeing the use of such a terrifying weapon, I decided it best to just ignore them if I could. I looked around for a new path, and thankfully the ceiling has been corroded away nearby. While the presence of such damage indicated a dark fate for one of my siblings, I was glad to find a way out. This new vent above the sewer line let me travel safely past the flame-spitting hunters but soon I came to the exit of the vent.
Inside the room just past the opening grate vent, I could hear the voices of just about four humans. Three hunters, and one employee. 'This place is falling apart!" One of the soldiers called out in frustration. The unarmed employee who was messing with a breaker simply chuckled. "That's Weyland-Yutani for you. Shiny on the outside, rotten on the inside." He managed to fix the device just as I entered the room from the vent.
Thankfully, the vent was on the ceiling so I was already above the clueless Humans as they patrolled this larger room. The room went down as water from the sewers fell down a small waterfall of just a few meters drop before continuing to flow deeper in. I looked to see a door guarded by only a single soldier that led farther into the sewers.
Thinking of a quick plan to distract them, I crawled above the breaker and used my long tail to shatter one of the cords. With a loud spark and flicker of the already dim lights, the soldiers all looked around in annoyance. "I thought you just fixed that?" one said with a grunt of annoyance. The employee quickly responded as they returned to the fuse box, now with the three soldiers beside them. "These fuses are cheap. They blow all the time."
With the opportunity made, I quickly jumped down and ran deeper into the sewer tunnels before the soldiers could even react to their motion tackers going off. "The hell was that? It's headed down the line toward Douglas, warn him on the radio." I made a mental note to expect those ahead that I was coming. My next movements would need to be slow and well-calculated.
As I made my way to the next area, I could sense the path I needed to take. I needed to go up. As I clung to the shadows I entered a more open section of the sewers that was filled with electronics and massive fans leading straight up into a massive airshaft. With the fans in the way, there was no way up for now, but there must be a way to turn them off.
I looked around before quickly noticing large cables that led just down the way. As I followed them I soon noticed a new presence, this one definitely of a hunter, however, they seemed much more worried than any other I have found. It was odd to see one so skittish, and for a moment I simply watched them in fascination from the dark.
"You guys better be screwing with me. Can you send me someone to help?" the man said into his radio with a quiver in his voice. "No, we have to kee-" The radio was cut off with static and interference before it could be heard once more. "-lmost done. Over and out." was all that could be heard before the garbled voice of the radio cut off.
Now alone in silence, the man cursed under his breath before looking around for anything nearby. While I would ignore him, he stood just by the source of the large cables I have been looking for. I knew I would have to get past him, and so I did what needed to be done. Ever so slowly, I moved from above him, careful not to set off his motion tracker. The movement was unbearably slow, but concealment was more important.
Eventually, I made my way behind him and cautiously climbed down the wall until I stood just behind him. Not wanting to take any risks, I lunged forward and grabbed him, one hand over his mouth, the other keeping his arms by his side. My lunge seemed to be a little too forceful, as it sent us both to the ground, splashing us both into the murky water on the floor.
He began to struggle and as he did so he managed to turn around just enough to look me face to face. I went to release my killing blow, just one quick bite of my inner jaw is all it would take, yet I hesitated. Upon looking at me, we both froze. His entire body seemed to seize up in horror, obviously due to the situation he found himself in. However, I didn't know why I froze, at least not at first.
What I saw was the terrified face of a young man. He was much younger than most of the soldiers I had seen, with smooth skin and glasses covering frightened green eyes. He had to be no older than Orion. Orion... That is why I froze. He reminded me of him. I continued to look at the young marine and he simply shook his head no, begging me not to end his life.
My instincts whispered for me to end it already, as anyone would, yet my brain held me back. Once again, I thought back on how many lives have ended in just the past few hours. I thought of all the innocents killed. I looked at the marine in silent contemplation before I finally made my choice. In one smooth motion, I gently let the man go from my tight grasp.
The moment I let him go, he took a few steps back as he looked on in utter disbelief. The young soldier looked at me in awe and looked around, seemingly still not being able to believe what just happened. I left him to attempt to gather his shattered mind as I walked over to the power source and sent a quick slash deep into it, destroying it with a single strike.
When I turned back around the young man was now holding his gun up at me, his hands shaking violently. I stared at him as I waited for him to pull the trigger. We stood together for a moment before finally in an action of defeat, he put the gun down and backed away. The whole time his face still had the expression of fear carved onto it.
As I walked past him to head back to the room with the fan, he pressed himself against the wall to stay as far away as possible. Before I turned the corner and left, I looked back at him and gave him a nod. It was then fear left his face, and only confusion remained. As I walked on back to finally leave this accursed sewer system, I could faintly hear him talk on his radio. "This is Douglas, I uh… I don't think you guys are going to believe what just happened."
As I distanced myself from the young hunter, I soon made my way back to the large airshaft and looked on in glee to see the fans were deactivated. I quickly jumped up and began to ascend to the surface. The closer I got to the top, the more I felt the air change as I neared my destination. After nearly reaching the top, I found a nearby vent and made my inside. Just a short distance finally led me inside a large building. I could feel the Nest now, I am close.
| -/\- -\_/- -/\- |
We were once more gathered on the bridge, only now we all had acquired our gear. The entire ship was on edge as the Elder started the final briefing on the large screen ahead. With a few button presses on his gauntlets, he began to speak. "Mighty Elites who gather here now, some most concerning developments have been made." The screen then flickered to life as it quickly zoomed in on the world.
What appeared sent a wave of outrage through the bridge as all in the room began to rise into an uproar. The screen showed the corpse of a fallen Youngblood. Green blood seeped out of several wounds as the body lay staring into the sky. Spartan, the Clan Leader, quickly slammed his spear onto the ground to silence the room.
Immediately upon hearing the crash, the whole room grew completely silent. With the clan now under control, the Elder continued. "This is not all. It appears our fears are a reality." With another command put into his gauntlet, the screen changed to show the face of a Serpent. "This planet is indeed infested, and to make matters worse we believe the Serpent Queen is one thought long imprisoned. No doubt released by the foolish Humans who taint our ancient lands."
With these new vital pieces of information given, Spartan took the stage and walked over to Scorch beside me. "Our scans show the location of the Hive is under the foundry, just as predicted. Your mission remains the same, however, I must stress this, do not underestimate this planet's Queen. She is an Ancient Evil who slayed countless of even the greatest warriors. Find a weakness, and destroy the Hive."
Scorch saluted Spartan and spoke. "The will of the Clan will be done. I will bring us honor with the destruction of this Hive." Spartan gave him a nod as he moved to the center of the bridge to be seen by all. "For the rest of you, nothing changes. Dark will save any Youngbloods left, and destroy any remains of them left behind. Wolf, you will go to the temple and activate the self-destruct. If any of you are to fall, then another one of you must complete their mission."
The three of us gave our salute and Spartan nodded in response. "Go to your ships. It is time for the hunt to begin." He commanded in his booming voice. The three of us turned around and walked shoulder to shoulder outside of the bridge. As we marched, all in the way cleared a path for us. It took only moments for us to reach the hanger of our warship and we quickly made our way to inspect our personal starships.
After a quick look at the systems for my ship, I made my way over to Scorch to speak with him. "A moment of your time please Scorch, I have something to give you." As he heard my voice, he quickly turned around and gave me a firm salute. "Of course Wolf, though I remind you our time runs short." I gave him a nod of acknowledgment before talking to him. "You are being tasked in what may be the most dangerous site of all. As we both know, a Hive is a grave threat as it is, let alone regarding this Ancient Evil it holds."
Scorch nodded as he listened to me continue. "When I was sent to my first Hive, I was given a gift by my mentor, a gift I shall now give to you." I reached to my side and pulled my Smart Disc off of my belt. "This weapon is one that has provided me many uses on many hunts, and now I am entrusting it to you. The blades are sharp and if your aim is true, it shall slaughter many foes."
Scorch seemed surprised as he looked at the weapon and back to me before he quickly kneeled in front of me. "I am most honored to receive such a mighty gift, Wolf. I am in your debt." I handed the Smart Disc to him and gestured for him to rise. As he once again stood tall, I shook my head and spoke. "There is no debt to be had. All I demand is for you to bring our tribe many great trophies this day."
The Elite in front of me gave clicks of confirmation before saluting me one final time. "I will do as you command Wolf. May you have great success on your hunt." With the final words spoken, Scorch turned and entered the cabin of his ship as he climbed up the side. With the task done, I now walked over to my own and entered the commands to start the ship. As the engines began to come to life, the cabin shields opened piece by piece and allowed me to enter.
Now in the cabin of my starship, I entered in all necessary commands to ready the launch system. The shields of the cabin quickly sealed me inside, and for a moment all was dark. After a moment, red light filled the cabin as all systems came online. With a sudden jerk, I felt the ship move as devices on the bridge moved us into the launch tubes of the hanger. I looked on in anticipation as the primary viewing screen came to life.
The screen showed the view from the Warships bridge, and soon the voice of the Clan Leader and Elder could be heard. "All Elites, prepare for launch." Called out the Elder on the intercom, only to quickly have Spartan begin commands of his own. "Port gunners, prepare a single volley at the Human Warships core, cut it down on my command. Engineers, ready the ship to lower the cloak. " With his commands given, a slight hum could be heard as the massive weapons of the Warship began to power up.
The Human Warship lay floating in the void of space, clueless about our presence. Scans showed the ship had already sent out most of its crew. There would be much work to do down below. The coms once again came to life as Spartan gave the command to strike. "Lower the cloak! Send the volley!" Spartan called out. Right on command, a deafening blast shook the ship as I saw multiple bright lights screech across the sky, right into the middle of the Human Warship.
The volley completely overpowered the primitive ship as it tore into the heart of the ship. As the last shot connected, bright explosions sounded out through the enemy, and the entire ship was torn asunder. "Launch all shuttles! Bring honor to the clan mighty Elites!" Spartan called out. Right as I heard the command, I pressed the launch button and a sudden blast of momentum sent me into my seat.
As our ships took flight, we quickly went to a tight formation and made course for the Planet below. As we moved through the void and to the world, we had to make constant course alterations as large chunks of debris flew across our path. Within moments we began to enter the atmosphere of the planet, and my ship began to violently shake under the conditions.
As we came closer and closer to the ground, I signaled to the other ships. "Activate repulsers and make way for your chosen landing location. May the hunt bring honor to you all." As I finished my words I activated my repulsers and my ship began to rapidly slow down, violently shaking the hull as the forces around battled against each other. I quickly corrected my course to the outskirts of the ruins, and when I looked to my side I saw the others all split off as well.
Now close to the ground, I quickly punched in commands into my gauntlet to activate the stealth and landing sequence. As my ship slowed, the shaking began to subside. In only a few minutes more, I had safely landed and began to put my ship on lockdown. As the cabin shields opened I jumped outside and began to take in my surroundings. The jungle was thick and the air was humid. Perfect hunting grounds.
I took a moment to ready myself and activated a small device I brought which glowed a red light. The device emanated a red holographic map of the area, showing me the topographic surroundings as well as the quickest path to the ruins. The journey to the ruins would take a while, however, on the way there will be many good trophies to collect.
With one final look at my now cloaked ship, I activated the cloaking device of my own. I walked into the dense foliage of the jungle and with a single command I switched my visors to show me infrared to best watch for any humans. Now completely prepared for the task at hand, I took a large jump into the trees, eager to begin my quest.
| -/\- -\_/- -/\- |
By now, I had made my way through a large portion of this new building. The halls were narrow and it was covered in Humans, but so far I have remained undetected. I was only blocked by one final room before I could finally reach the Nest. This room was large and spacious, filled with Human Hunters and a single researcher inside. Alongside them were multiple large devices on wheels that carried heavy cabins of steel.
Catwalks lined the walls and support beams reached across the ceiling. The beams proved to be the perfect perch that I could use to stalk the humans down below. "Everything has gone to shit since The Marlow went down." called out the voice of one of the Hunters from down below. "It ain't over yet Private. The Dropship will get here soon." responded another as they walked over to the side of an employee.
The employee let out a grunt of frustration as they slammed an irritated fist onto the table. "Goddamned Weyland-Yutani tech, this laptop is a piece of shit!" the man cried out. A Hunter turned around and snapped at him. "Keep your shit together! No telling when bugs are coming." As I looked around I noticed the presence of a turret down below, facing a door in a corridor of tall shelves.
I continued to look around my surroundings when I finally found the door I would need to take to leave this place. As I made my way to it from above, I suddenly felt the overpowering presence of Mother enter my mind. "Kill anything left alive in the garage. They threaten our new home." As she spoke her commands in my ear, the ever-so-familiar presence of bloodlust entered my mind.
I shook my head to try to fight it, but soon everything became a blur. I forgot of my worries and a new fixation was made. I quietly stalked the Hunters one by one, waiting for the time to strike. As a lone Hunter broke off to check on the turret, he made his way alone into the labyrinth of shelves. As he kneeled down to check on their weapon, I carefully made my way behind him.
Before he could even react, I quickly lashed out and cut a clean chunk of his throat off, leaving nothing but a gaping hole left. As he clung to where the front of his throat used to be, he fell to the ground with a small thump, and nothing else but his gurgle could be heard. With the first kill made, I quickly climbed back up above. It would only be a matter of time until they found him. I must still abuse my element of surprise while I still have it.
With their numbers down to only about half a dozen, I quietly awaited for the next opportunity to present itself. "Are they done checking the turret yet? Shepard, Wendell, go check in on the Private." a voice called out of one of the Hunters. Watching them split their numbers only filled me with anticipation as they willingly thinned their own lines, however, my presence would soon be discovered. As the two humans left the side of the one who commanded them, leaving him alone and in the open, I quickly jumped down from the ceiling and on top of him.
The force of the fall knocked the air out of his lungs and all he could sound out was a barely audible grunt. Quickly, I used my claws to once again rip out the man's throat before retreating to the shadows once more as he lay there dying on the floor. It was then my cover was blown and the bodies were discovered. "We got a casualty by the turret!" called out one voice. "We got another one out here! It's Sergeant!"
When they finally realized what was happening, one of them finally cried out "We got a Bug! Group up now!" With my cover blow, I quickly lunged down at the two who were sent to inspect the body at the turret. As I landed on the first one, claws out in front, I cut deep into their back and sent them down crying in pain. Before the other could even react, I gave them a fierce swipe of my tail and sent them flying into the shelves.
As they cried out, I quickly silenced the first one with a quick bite of my inner jaw. As their skull caved in, the other just about got to their feet and moved to take aim at me. As they released their first shots, I quickly jumped to the side to dodge the attack. Before they could regain their sights on me, I struck them with the blade of my tail and sent a deep thrust into their heart.
The second Hunter now clung to their chest as they took their final breaths. I quickly slid my tail out of their chest, but before I could move gunfire began to crash around me. I let out a loud hiss of irritation and quickly made an escape to the ceiling. Thankfully, my quick movement allowed me to avoid getting hit, but as I got up top I noticed the catwalk now had the last Hunter on it.
Before I could move out of the way, a much louder blast sounded off and a wall of molten slag slammed into me, flinging me across the room. As I crashed into a far wall and fell to the ground, I got up dazed from the attack. "I hit it! Bastards down on the west side!" called out the voice of the Slug-Throwing Hunter. When I got back up I rose to my full height on my hind legs. As the two from earlier turned the corner to attack me, they hesitated upon seeing me dwarf them in size.
Using this moment, I quickly lunged at the two men and threw them to the ground. As we wrestled against each other, I used my tail to sever the hands of one of them as I pinned the first to the ground. With a quick swipe of my claw, I cut open yet another human's throat, and I used my tail to finish off the one who had lost their hands. With a single slash, the blade of my tail cut across their neck and their head lifelessly fell off to their side.
Now, only two people remained inside. By now, the employee was running for mercy as they desperately tried to escape the carnage. Meanwhile, the Slug-Thrower up above frantically made its way down and now stood in the open, constantly looking around and looking high and low for me. Any movement I made he followed due to his blasted motion sensor, and he soon began to taunt me.
"C'mon out you son of a bitch! I see you hiding there! Too scared to face me!?" The man cried out in anger. I took a moment to think of what to do and it was then I looked around the room for a vital component. I quickly made my way far from the frenzied Hunter and soon came down by a large generator. With as strong of a cut as I could muster, I began to strike the generator until it soon began to buckle and break down.
As the generator died, every light in the garage began to flicker before darkness covered the room. The Hunter cursed as he quickly turned on his flashlight. He looked around frantically as I slowly made my way closer and closer to him. With his vision now clouded, I easily made my way near him. His motion tracker grew louder and louder as I grew ever closer, staying just out of the beam of his light.
"C'mon already! Come and fight me, you bastard!" He yelled as he shook his gun around. As he had his outburst I quickly lunged out and went to grab him. Just before I could he raised his arms and blocked my attacks with his gun, but just barely. Before he could take aim, I kept the aggression up and sent strike after strike, all the while he did his best to block the blows. My rampant attacks soon wore down his guard and his weapon grew weak under the abuse.
Now heavily fatigued, he lowered his weapon for just a moment and gave me the perfect opening. I lunged out my tail and sent it clean through his chest, raising his body high into the air. His weapon shot off multiple rounds as his body clenched tight from the sudden sensation of death. As the final rounds sounded out, I lowered the corpse to the ground and stood proudly above my kill. I then looked to the last survivor.
The man was looking around blindly in the darkness, terrified of my presence. I simply walked up to him, and all the while he was left entirely unaware of me. I began to ready myself to kill the final human, to finish Mother's will, but that was when a new voice called out to me. Orion's voice. "Six. You haven't spoken in a while, are you ok?" Orion called out to me through my mind.
Hearing his warm voice immediately ripped me out of my trance. I looked around at what I had done and began to step away from the last man, deciding enough blood had been spilled. The man looked terrified, yet he still was unaware of how close to death he just was. Before I could walk away to spare the man, a noticed a blur fly by me and turned in surprise. What I saw troubled me, but it was inevitable for the last survivor. A Facehugger had snuck inside and chosen its host. All that I heard as I left was the muffled screams of the soon-to-be-dead man.
When I left the garage, I did my best to distance myself from it as fast as I could. The amount of blood I spilled in there made me feel massive guilt as I once again thought of how Orion would react. The hallway soon led me to the large tunnels that connected to the Hive and as I neared, I felt the presence of Mother grow ever stronger. As I made my way through the tunnels, I noticed more and more fallen Humans, all with Facehuggers attached to them.
Some were being dragged to the Nest itself, while others were simply left there on the ground alone. When I finally reached the threshold to the Hive, I saw large doors that had been completely destroyed. Hive resin poured from the opening as multiple drones worked tirelessly to expand our new home more and more. As I made my way inside, I saw countless other siblings of mine around the place.
Everyone made their way to the heart of the Hive, and soon we finally reached the Throne Room. Walking into the largest room of the Refinery left me speechless, to say the least. It was large enough to fit well over a hundred of us and was filled with multiple cooling vats, letting off immense amounts of steam and heat. At the end of the room, where all the heat originated from, sat Mother, towering above us on her freshly carved throne.
She hung from above and looked at us all, seemingly pleased with the amount that has arrived. At the base of her throne lay countless eggs as she laid more and more, only for them to be taken to the birthing chambers by Drones. The hissing and chittering of the countless kin inside the room suddenly came to a stop as Mother sent us all one powerful command. "Enough."
Now, everyone's attention was on her, and we waited for what she had to say. "My children. My wonderful warriors whom have brought justice to this broken world. You all have done well in your actions and these Humans and their Hunters now flee for their lives." As she gave us her praise a sense of anxiety began to fill the room as we all sensed more is to come from this assembly.
"Our nest is deep and guarded, yet we are still not safe from the dangers of other species. While the Hunters may be faltering, I have sensed a new danger lurking in this world. The very same danger that locked us away eons ago." Hearing of the new threat sent unease through the minds of many, but Mother continued nonetheless. "These Demons bend light to mask themselves from eyes and spit balls of plasma from afar. They are dangerous creatures that now threaten me once again."
"I have summoned you all here to protect the Hive at all costs, for such a demon is fast approaching. The rest of your kin shall continue to ravage the world, but you shall be my guard." Hearing the new commands, all my fellow siblings took great pride in the new role of the Hive and quickly left to make preparations to defend our home. As everyone left Mother's Throne Room, I was the only one that remained. It's now or never.
"My daughter. We have much to discuss." Mother said as she spoke only to me now. I stood in front of her and dipped my head in respect. "Yes, Mother. I know." She leaned down as far as she could from her throne to look at me closely. "You must answer me, and answer me truthfully my daughter. Why did you not only spare a human but also save his life? You understand an action such as this gives me reason enough to strike you down…"
Mother sounded angry, and rightfully so, but I had to try to convince her. "Mother, please understand that he is not like the others! I know your hatred for Humans is just, but please just listen to me!" As I sat there in front of her, she simply stayed silent and listened to my pleas. Silent seconds passed as she thought before finally, she responded. "I will permit you to speak your case, my daughter, for I know you are wise in your judgment."
I nodded my head as thanks as I chose what I had to say very, very carefully. "Mother. I know Humans have proved to be a terrible race of cruel and evil creatures, and for a long time, I thought that was the case as well. It wasn't until I met my new caretaker years ago that it all changed. He worked hard to bring me happiness and even put himself in harm's way to protect me."
As I continued my defense for Orion, Mother simply stayed silent and listened with great intent. "When I got free, I spared him because he spare me so many times before. I went back into the facility because I had to be sure he stayed alive! I can't tell you how much this Human means to me. If I hadn't healed him with your gift, then he would have died in my arms."
Upon hearing that I healed Orion, Mother immediately shifted and spoke. "So it was you who allowed a Human into our minds? Do you have any idea the kind of consequences this could bring upon us?! You threaten everything we built for just this one man?!" As Mother berated me a piece of me snapped and I did the unthinkable, I yelled back. "You don't understand! I couldn't let him die! Orion is everything to me! I- I care for him more than I can say! I'd die for him!"
Immediately upon realizing what I had just done, I quickly took steps back in fear of the fury she was sure to unleash at my outburst. The only thing that answered me however was a deafening silence that plagued the room. The silence remained for what felt like hours before finally Mother spoke to me. "These things you say. They are all true, aren't they? Your feelings, his actions…" I quietly nodded in response.
Mother took a moment before finally speaking again. "Then go my child. Go…" I shook my head in confusion. "I don't understand?" I muttered. Mother let out a humorous chitter. "Go to your human. Protect him. I will be fine without you here." Hearing her blessing shook me to my core. It took me a moment to fully accept what I heard, but I soon nodded my head in appreciation. "Mother… I-" She raised a hand out toward me. "There is nothing more to say, my daughter. I made you for greatness, to continue my lineage among the stars. Go…"
Upon hearing it one more time, I slowly turned around before making my way out. Just before I left, I turned back to her and gave her a final nod of thanks. As I sprinted out of the Hive and back to the Facility to meet Orion, my mind was filled with warmth and contentment at getting the blessing of my own Mother to ensure Orion's safety. With each step I made that brought me closer to my Caretaker, the anticipation for our reunion only grew.
It took only moments for me to get to the outside as I pushed myself as hard as I could go. Instead of taking the long path through the sewers, I opted to simply take the direct route and travel through the thick jungle. As I ran, I reached out in my mind to speak with Orion as I made my way to him. "I am coming back, Orion. I will be there soon. Stay safe my Caretaker, we are no longer alone…"
- Authors Note -
I hope you enjoyed the Sixteenth installment of The Sixth Specimen, and I hope it was worth the wait! I apologize for the late upload as this chapter proved to be quite challenging to write and work has been taking more and more of my time. I had a lot of fun writing this though and I am proud to finally bring you guys the long-awaited confrontation between Six and The Matriarch! It may not be what everyone was expecting, but in the end, I feel it is best for the direction of this story.
Furthermore, I have some rather exciting news as well! On the Discord Server that Remnualt and I have set up, (link below), I will be having a vote concerning some "content" later on in the story, as well as just trying to get some general feedback later on. If you would like to put your vote in, feel free to join and do so! While I do hate to bring some bad news, I fear Chapter Seventeen may have to be delayed. While I can't say much yet, there is a good chance I won't be able to get it out in time, so I apologize in advance.
As always, thank you so much to every single one of you that has stuck with me all this time and has been enjoying my story! I can't wait to bring you all the next chapter of Six's and Orion's life, and I wish you all a fantastic day!
Server join link - discord. gg /AzTnKZGZ (sorry if you can't copy and paste, you may have to just write it manually in the search bar).
