Author's Opening Note: Another late update. My apologies, but I've been unexpectedly busy this holiday season.
Anyway, just a heads up, "How To Train Your Dragon" won the cinematic multiverse poll by a landslide. I'm surprised; I expected "The Incredibles" to win. But, either way, I'll be posting that one in a few months after five or six one-shot chapters in my other fic. In the meantime, I'd appreciate any recommendations for the cast of "How To Train Your Dragon" via PM. Any mistakes I made, please point them out.
Review Responses
Samurai XV- That's a very interesting concept. I'm certain I'll adapt "Predator" right off the bat for my one-shot fic, so I'll take your idea under consideration.
Uncle Woody: I'll consider "Arcane" for a one-shot adaptation. If it gets chosen, I'll use your casting choices. Thank you.
Xenozip: Oh, yes. They're all awesome choices. Well, if you made your choice already, I hope it was my own personal preference. If not, that's fine. I give my readers what they want.
helljack666: Lol. That's funny stuff. I can easily picture them having that exchange in "Dead Man's Chest".
StrongGuy159: Those are some great casting choices. I'll keep them in mind if I ever adapt "Lilo and Stitch".
Memnon45: Pardon my cruelty, lol. But, yeah, writing this chapter was a blast. So far, I think Summer vs the Alien Queen is the most awesome moment I've adapted so far and the most awesome the audience has seen. And, finally, you're right Burkes actor, Paul Reiser, saw the premier of "Aliens" with his mother and she cheered when his character died.
BLADE OF ILLUSIONS: I'm so glad to hear that I elicited an emotional response from you with my writings. That's what I'm aiming for with all my readers.
LoamyCoffee: Oh yeah. I know that feeling. I jumped up and clapped when Burke was killed.
KidChaos69: Indeed. That's the most horrifying thing about the Xenomorphs/Velociraptors: they're learning animals. They're constantly stalking and watching their prey, trying to figure out a way to kill them.
GojiraRWBYSW18- It is unnerving. That may just be the most terrifying aspect of any movie monster. And I've gotta check out that video on YouTube.
JojoFan64: I'm sorry, but that's too heavy for this fic. A one-short, possibly, but not the entire movie.
cmgessner24: I probably will. Or at least make it a voting option in a future poll. I'm sure the audience will be surprised and intrigued to see Ozpin play Davy Jones
Inspiration: Aliens
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. "RWBY" is the property of director and animator Monty Oum (RIP) and production company Rooster Teeth, and "Aliens" is the property of director James Cameron, production company Brandywine Pictures, and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Summer and Taiyang sprinted toward an elevator on the other end of the corridor and stepped onboard. Taiyang hit the button to take them to the surface, but nothing happened. Frustrated, he hit the button again. The doors began to close just as an alien suddenly appeared and stuck it's head through. Acting fast, Taiyang shot the creature point blank, sending it flying away screeching; it's acidic blood spraying Taiyangs armored chest plate.
Ruby, Yang, and Qrow all gasped sharply, the girls putting hands over their mouths.
"No dad!" Ruby cried out in concern.
"Ugh. I hate that acid so much!" Yang growled in frustration.
"Me too. It eats through everything," Harriet agreed.
Taiyang desperately undid the clasps of his armor as the acid burned towards his skin. Summer helped as much as she could. Taiyang gasped as the acid touched his chest and arm. He slipped out of the combat armor, dropping the dissolving pieces onto the floor. Smoke filled the elevator, burning their eyes.
"Is he all right, though?" Ruby fretted
"I think he suffered some burns, but I believe with medical attention, he should be okay," Penny supplied hopefully, certain her counterpart could help Taiyang.
"Good thing he was wearing armor," Vine remarked, knowing it mitigated the harm it caused.
The elevator stopped and opened up.
The two survivors stumbled out of the North Lock gate, Summer supporting an agonized and burnt Taiyang as they descended down the ramp towards the landing grid.
"Come on. You can make it," Summer encouraged Taiyang as they lumbered over towards Penny.
Not far away stood Penny who was guiding the ship with the portable terminal. The second dropship appeared just over the colony's operations building, it's flight a bit shaky due to the hurricane. The dropship landed roughly and it's ramp lowered.
"They've got the other dropship. But do you think they'll have enough time to rescue Yang?" Jaune questioned.
"They better. If not, it really is game over," Marrow said, reiterating his counterpart's earlier line.
Summer and Taiyang reached Penny. In the background, the atmospheric processor continued emanating brilliant blue bolts of lightning as it came closer and closer to exploding.
"Penny, how much time?" Summer asked, her voice barely audible over the heavy winds.
"Plenty. Twenty-six minutes," Penny answered.
"We're not leaving," Summer informed.
"We're not?" Penny asked in puzzlement.
Penny helped Summer carry the injured Taiyang onto the dropship.
"Damn right, they're not," Qrow said sharply.
"So, they're going back to hive at the atmospheric processor," Ozpin said ominously.
"I was afraid of that," Clover muttered, remembering the squads disastrous first encounter.
Cut to an exterior shot of Penny in the dropships cockpit as she flew towards the colossal, overloading atmospheric processor. The lightning bolts continued to dance all around the structure.
The music turned suspenseful as the comparatively tiny dropship glided inside the structure.
On board the dropship, Summer grabbed a pulse rifle and a flamethrower from a weapons rack, which she stacked on of each other. Next, she tied the two weapons together with duct-tape. An unwieldy but lethal combination of firepower.
Ruby beamed at the makeshift double weapon her mother created. "That's an awesome weapon she just made."
"She's really gonna kick serious alien ass," Nora predicted as she chowed on some popcorn.
Nearby, a seated Taiyang was giving himself a shot of morphine to dull the pain of his acid burns.
"Well, dad's definitely out of the fight," Yang frowned.
"So, Summer will be on her own at this point," Ironwood realized with a sip of water.
"She's gonna be hard pressed to save Yang," Jaune concluded.
In the cockpit, Penny looked unsure but, regardless, found a suitable landing platform about ten levels above the bottom of the structure. She descended upon it and landed carefully.
Back aboard the ship, Summer was finishing up with stockpiling grenades, flares, and any other gear she felt she needed. She slipped all She also taped the wrist locators tracker onto her duel weapon.
"Summer-" Penny began to reason.
"I don't wanna hear about it, Penny," Summer cut off the android without even looking at her. "She's alive. There's still time."
"In 19 minutes, this area is gonna be a cloud of vapor the size of Patch Island."
Marrow gave a low whistle. "That's one hell of a blast," he remarked.
"Penny shouldn't bother trying to talk her out of it," Maria stated with a sip of tea. "That kind of bond between a mother and her child is unbreakable."
"But if Summer can't save Yang in time, then-" Harriet trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
Nobody wanted to address the very bleak but real possibility of everyone perishing once the processing station exploded.
Summer prepared to head out and rescue Yang. "Xiao Long, don't let her leave," she requested from Taiyang.
Taiyang held a gauze over his left eye. "We ain't going anywhere," he promised, grimacing with pain.
"See you, Xiao Long."
"Taiyang," he finally revealed his first name. "It's Taiyang."
Summer smiled and nodded.
Taiyang smiled back. "Don't be gone long, Summer."
Ruby, Yang, and a few others smiled at the sweet moment, even though it was a brief one.
"I thought it was kind of weird he was a last-name basis with mom," Ruby commented, glad it was over.
"They've certainly bonded throughout the movie," Ozpin commented, hoping their counterparts would start a relationship like their real selves.
Lugging her dual weapon, Summer ran down the dropship ramp and over to a nearby elevator on the platform.
From an intercom, Summer heard an automated voice deliver an emergency message.
"Attention. personnel must evacuate now have 15 minutes... to reach minimum safe distance."
Ignoring the announcement as best she could, Summer stepped onto the elevator and hit the switch to head downward.
Blake furrowed her brows. "Jeez. Fifteen minutes?"
"Don't forget about the locator. Summer can pull it off," Weiss brought up, trying to stay optimistic
"Even so, this rescue mission won't be easy," Clover said, but bid Summer good luck regardless.
As the lift descended, suspenseful build up music played. Summer knelt down to finish her preparations. She opened up the box of flares and stuffed them into her pocket. She then removed her jacket clipped a battle harness over her undershirt and slung the bag full of grenades across her shoulder.
"Your mother has come so far since the beginning of the film," Elm lauded Summer's character development.
"Initially, she was just a flight officer with PTSD, now she's practically a marine in her own right," Harriet added, personally wishing someone like her was a member of the Ace-Ops.
"Oh, yeah. She's a total badass now," Yang declared proudly.
"Attention. Emergency. All personnel must evacuate immediately. You now have 14 minutes to reach minimum safe distance."
Summer ignored the warning. There was no turning back.
The music stopped as the elevator door opened onto Sub-level 3. Summer took a few tentative steps off the elevator, the sounds of alarms and rushing air could be heard all around her as vents and cooling ducts blew clouds of steam from every direction. The only other sound was the proximity beeping of the tracker.
Everyone began to feel edgy
"This is like the first movie when she was escaping the Nostromo," Weiss noted warily.
"Yes. But this time it's even worse. There's an entire colony of those things for her to worry about," Ren said, knowing danger lurked around every corner.
"And this is the same sub-level where the squad got massacred," Marrow grieved as he realized that Clover and Neon could be dead via chestburster by now.
With no time to lose, Summer slowly but surely made her way down a corridor straight ahead. It was dark and steamy with pipes glowing red hot here and there. She paused every so often to fire a gust of fire from her flamethrower to flush out any possible concealed aliens.
Behind Summer, the elevator doors slid closed.
The trackers beeping grew steadily more rapid. She glanced down at it, and saw that Yang was apparently only fifty meters away.
"She's close. Thank the gods," Weiss breathed.
"She still has to find her before-" Harriet began.
"She will! I know she will," Yang snapped, the stress of the scene getting to her.
Harriet glared at Yang before deciding to let it go.
Summer descended a metal stairway into another corridor that was even darker than the previous one. She trudged on, regardless, ducking to avoid a red hot pipe as she went. She kept on until she reached a junction. She pivoted around until she faced an ominous, resin coated corridor, from which the tracker's beeping intensified.
Working fast, Summer fired her flamethrower into the corridor, then removed a flare from her thigh satchel, lit it, and set it on the ground just outside the mouth of the corridor.
"She's marking the trail so she can find her way back after rescuing Yang," Ocar pointed out.
"Good idea, considering the clock is ticking. And how easy it would be to get lost down there," Penny complimented Summer's resourcefulness.
Summer quickened her pace as she entered the nest, doing the same shoot and scoot maneuver with her flamethrower as she went along. Panting from anxiety and the heat, she stopped at a corner and checked the rangefinder: 20 meters. Almost there.
She descended another staircase, delving deeper and deeper into the nest. She lit another flare and dropped it on the ground before moving on.
"You're almost there. Keep going,"
"Please don't let it be too late,"
Finally, Summer reached a spot where the trackers beeping reached a very rapid peak. She scanned the area, but Yang was nowhere to be seen. She then looked down, and with horror, spotted Yang's locator watch.
Summer knelt down, picked up the watch, now covered in mucus, and moaned in despair, fearing the worst had happened to the girl she'd grown so attached to.
Teams RWBY and ORNJ all looked crestfallen.
"She lost her..." Elm said sadly.
"We don't know that. It could have just fallen off," Blake countered Elm's claim.
"But that structure is enormous. Yang could be anywhere," Winter reminded.
"Don't give up mom," Ruby pleaded with her hands clasped together.
Elsewhere in the hive, Yang was cocooned in a slimy resin pillar surrounded by alien eggs. She slowly woke up and became aware of her situation. The egg closest to her began to stir, the top peeling open to reveal the disgusting, gooey innards. Yang stared in silent terror, just as the bony legs of a facehugger crept over the lip of the egg. She let out a shrill scream.
Everyone looked horrified at Yangs peril. Seeing a child be "impregnate" by a facehugger was the last thing they'd want to witness.
"No!" Weiss, Ruby, and Blake all cried out.
"Help me-I mean her, mom!" Yang screamed.
Summer heard the scream and immediately followed it. She arrived just in time and blasted the facehugger to bits with her pulse rifle before it could pounce onto Yang. The action alerted a pair of aliens warriors, who bounded down nearby corridors, heading straight for Summer. But she was faster and gunned them both down.
Yang wiped sweat from her forehead. "That was way too close."
"That's two close calls you've had with the facehuggers," Vine commented.
"You certainty are lucky, Yang," Ren complimented.
"Summer! Summer!" Yang called for help.
"Newt," Summer shouted as he ran over to Yang and tore off the fresh resin, freeing the girl.
"Grab on to me! Hold on!" as she hoisted Yang up in her left arm and fled the room.
Back at the processors main area, a huge explosion erupted from the bottom of the structure.
A few people recoiled at the size of the explosion.
"Holy smokes!" Jaune exclaimed. "It's like being inside of an erupting volcano."
"Summer's gotta haul ass before the whole place goes kablooey," Nora said worriedly.
The sudden explosion shook the entire structure, nearly threw Summer off balance as she ran as fast as she could while carrying Yang, knowing that time was almost up. She entered another room, hoping it was the right direction…and then she froze. Her eyes went wide as she slowly observed her eerily quiet surroundings. She and Yang were surrounded by alien eggs. Dozens of them. They had just stumbled into the center of the nest.
"Oooooh snap," Qrow muttered with wide eyes.
"That appears to be the middle of the nest," Penny guessed correctly.
"Also known as the absolute last place you'd want to be," Harriet appropriately described.
"It's like stepping into a mine field," Clover gave another accurate description.
But that's not all that was there. Summer spotted a fresh alien egg emerge from what could only be described as a massive version of an insect ovipositor suspended from the ceiling by thick, slimy strands of resin. It was as long as a small bus and pulsating with perhaps a hundred eggs forming inside of it.
"Ewww," several people cringed in disgust.
"Ugh!" Weiss scrunched her face. "That thing is laying facehugger eggs?"
Maria pondered for a moment. "Wait a second?" she mumbled, remembering Marrow's earlier theory.
"Weren't we discussing the possibility of..." Ozpin trailed off as an idea popped into his mind.
And attached to it was a huge alien, about five times as big as the warriors. It possessed two sets of arms, one large, the other small. Its head was also distinctively different from the warriors, wide and frill shaped, almost like a crown. Raspy, inhuman breathing emanated from the great creature.
Low, frightening music began to play as Summer and Yang both stared in silent horror and awe at the new creature. The one responsible for maintaining the alien colony. This was the Alien Queen.
Everyone was as silent as the onscreen duo; their mouths all slowly gaping open at the new enemy. It was as terrifying as it was awe-inspiring; even morseso than when thecfirst saw a grown alien in the first movie.
"What in the name of the brothers is that?" Maria leveled a slightly trembling finger the screen, her artificial irises filling the lens.
"That…is the queen," Ozpin said simply and without a doubt.
"It looks like you were on the right track, Marrow," Elm said, while Marrow just chuckled nervously.
"So, that's how the aliens start up colonies,"
"Look at her. She's huge," Jaune described the queen.
"And terrifying," Nora whimpered while Ren gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder.
Sensing the intruders, the queens' toothy jaws slid out from its protective "skull" and let out a deep hiss of alarm. Yang glanced from side to side, spotting two drones appear in separate passageways, responding to their queens call for help. The duo was trapped.
"How are they supposed to get out of this one?" Weiss fretted.
"I don't think Summer has time to waste battling the Queen," Ironwood said urgently.
"But the aliens won't just let them leave," Qrow countered Ironwood's reasoning.
Summer got an idea. She gently set Yang down, aimed her flamethrower, and fired a stream of flame through the air. The Queen screeched in a panic.
Then Summer took her finger off the trigger and aimed the flamethrower at the clustered eggs. Understanding the silent warning clearly, the queen gestured to her drones, instructing them to back off, and they obeyed without hesitation.
"You see that? They can communicate with each other," Maria said in surprise.
"Makes sense since she's the leader of the colony," Clover
Blake nodded slowly. "It looks like Summer has struck a deal with the queen. Maybe they can just leave," she commented.
"Well played," Harriet complimented.
With the Queen momentarily pacified, Summer and Yang began to walk backwards very slowly towards the corridor they'd just come from. Unfortunately, at the most inopportune moment, one of the alien eggs cracked open right next to them.
"Uh-oh…" Ruby muttered, her eyes widening.
"Shit!" Qrow swore. "Bad timing."
"You jinxed it, Blake," Weiss sighed while Blake grinned sheepishly.
Jaune threw his hands up. "Whelp…all bets are off now," he said, knowing what was about to happen.
With no other choice, Summer tilted her head slightly, then fired her flamethrower again, this time setting the eggs on fire. The enraged Queen screeched and flailed her arms at the sight of her nest and offspring being torched. The two warriors who were on standby leaped from their spots, but Summer was faster and shot them both dead.
The music then turned to perilous suspense as Summer proceeded to spray the egg chamber with pulse rifle fire to blow the remainder of the eggs to pieces, all the while the Queen kept shrieking as the heavy flames flickered high enough to burn her.
"Well, that escalated quickly," Oscar
"That's really gonna piss her off," noted , hoping she was incapable of pursuing the two protagonists.
"Fried alien eggs anyone?" Qrow asked jokingly.
"Yuck!" Nora gagged. "No thank you."
Once her rifle ran dry, Summer switched to the 30mm grenade launcher and began to pump one grenade round after another into the Queens ovipositor, eliciting shrieks of pain and rage from the alien monarch.
Finally, once her grenade launcher clicked empty, Yang grabbed Summer by the wrist. "Let's go!" she cried.
"Listen to her," Ironwood implored. "Get out of there while you still can."
Yang spotted a warrior try to sneak up on them. "Behind us!"
Hearing Yang's warning, Summer spun around and killed the warrior.
At that point, an alarm began to blare from above their heads, indicating that time was almost up.
The two humans then paused just outside the only corridor not blocked off by the fire. Summer removed her bandolier full of grenades and then, since she had no idea how to use them, simply threw it into the nest. She then picked up Yang and dashed out of the chamber.
Back in the nest-turned-inferno, the resulting explosion from the cooked off grenades shook the entire nest so hard, it severed the thick resin strands holding up the queen, dropping her into the alien egg barbeque her nest had been turned into.
Now completely berserk, the Queen lashed around in a fury as she ripped away from her now destroyed ovipositor, dragging torn tissue behind it. Standing on her thick legs, she stepped forward to chase Summer and Yang.
A few people cringed at the Queen ripping away from her ovipositor while others were concerned about the threat she posed now that she was free.
"Oh boy…mommy is very angry," Nora appropriately described the Alien Queens disposition.
"Let's hope they can outrun her," Ren nervously sipped a cup of green tea.
Back to Summer carrying Yang and running as fast as her legs could carry her down the tunnel, hoping she was going the right way. All around them, thick steam billowed from vent shafts. The emergency alarm system informed them of how much time they had left.
"Attention. personnel must evacuate. personnel must evacuate immediately."
Fortunately, Summer took the right path, as she spotted one of the flares she dropped to mark the trail back to the elevator. Then the second one.
Finally, Summer clambered up a staircase and reached the lift. She set Yang down and hit the switch to summon the elevator. Peering through the grated primary gate, she noticed that the elevator was a good three or four stories up and descending slowly.
The emergency alarm system voice only heightened the duo's anxiety.
"You now have four minutes... to reach minimum safe distance."
Frustrated, Summer hit the switch again.
"Ugh. I hate it when elevators take forever like that," Yang complained.
"And at the worst possible moment," Qrow added, aware the Queen was in pursuit. "Like when there's a giant friggin alien after you."
Not far behind, the two humans heard the unmistakable screech of the Alien Queen as it drew closer.
"Damn, she's fast," Harriet was surprised by the Queens speed.
"And really pissed off," Jaune added with worry.
"Well, after what Summer did to her eggs, who can blame her?" Vine said logically.
"Come on, goddamn it!" Summer yelled as she pounded the switch.
The elevator was descending too slowly; there had to be another way.
Panicking, Summer ran to a nearby ladder. "Hold on to me!" she ordered Yang.
Just before she could start to climb, Summer and Yang spotted the Alien Queen appear around the corner they had just come from.
"Hurry! Get out of there," Elm yelled.
"The stress of this whole sequence is starting to get to me," Ren remarked as he fanned himself.
"You're not the only one," Winter said as she took a swig of lemon water.
Fortunately, the elevator had just arrived in the nick of time.
Summer leaped down from the ladder and dashed inside the elevator with Yang in her arms while the Queen stomped down the corridor toward them, toppling the metal ladder they were just hanging from.
Summer set Yang down, aimed her flamethrower at the Queen and fired a jet of fire through the wire mesh door, driving her away from the lift before she could break inside.
Summer's flamethrower ran out of fuel just as the inner elevator door closed and the lift began to rise toward the dropship platform.
"So long, ugly," Marrow mockingly waved goodbye.
The emergency announcement blared over the loudspeaker again as explosions rocked the elevator, shaking the two passengers as they crouched in a corner.
"Attention. personnel must evacuate immediately."
Back down below, the Queen turned as another elevator door opened next to the one Summer and Yang just fled through. She tilted her head at the machine, as if contemplating.
The audience went rigid at the possibility of the queen being capable of operating an elevator.
Ren squinted his eyes. "Wait...is she...?"
"No way," Elm whispered in disbelief.
"Don't tell me that she's about to-" Winter mumbled, fearful of the Queen's intelligence.
"You now have two minutes to reach minimum safe distance."
Summer closed her eyes in exhaustion as the elevator shuddered and shook even more, signifying the processing station entering its death throes.
Finally, the elevator reached the platform, and the duo stepped off as perilous music began to play.
Summer scanned the platform, her eyes widening. "No," she gasped out.
The dropship was gone. Penny had apparently left them both for dead.
"Penny, goddamn you!" Summer bellowed skyward.
"What the…? Where's the dropship?!" Yang shouted in near panic.
"No! No, it can't be!" Ruby said in a wavering voice.
Tears brimmed in Penny's eyes. "She…I left them. I left them," she said shakily. "What if I'm just like Oscar? What if I was programmed to help Jacques retrieve an alien all along?" [2]
Penny's theory created feelings of cold dread and betrayal in the audience.
Winter shook her head. "No, Penny. That's not true. It can't be," she tried to comfort the android.
Summer heard a mechanical groan come from the elevator shaft. She shot a look down and spotted the lift rising. Somehow, the Alien Queen had figured out the controls and was continuing her chase.
"She figured out how to use an elevator?!" Elm exclaimed in disbelief.
"Well, she did understand the basics of fire," Vine reminded.
"Damn, she's a clever one," Maria admitted reluctantly.
Summer checked the ammo counter on her pulse rifle. It was empty. She discarded her weapon in despair. She then lifted Yang and backed up to the edge of the platform.
All around, metal debris began to rain down from above as the structure fell apart. Great flames and explosions erupted everywhere. At most, there was only one minute left on the countdown.
Summer and Yang watched as the elevator doors slowly opened up, revealing the Alien Queen, hissing furiously.
"Close your eyes, baby," Summer told Yang as she realized they were doomed.
A few people teared up or stared despondently at the apparently downer ending.
"The Queen will rip them to shreds if they don't get blown up first," Qrow said grimly.
"This is the end…" Blake murmured, her ears flattening.
"At least they'll die together," Yang tearfully pointed out the only conciliation.
"And they'll take all the aliens with them," Qrow concluded.
But then, just when all hope had faded, the dropship hovered upwards into frame right behind Summer and Yang.
Yang noticed first. "Look!"
Summer turned quickly to spot the airship, then spun back around at the shrieking Alien Queen just as she stepped off the elevator.
The crowd's despair was immediately lifted when they saw the dropship appear.
"Penny didn't leave them after all," Winter said with relief.
"Yes! They're gonna make it!" Nora cheered loudly.
"I knew it! I knew she'd never leave them," Ruby cried out with joy as she and Penny hugged each other.
Wasting no time, Summer hoisted Yang up onto the dropships boarding ramp as it rotated toward them.
"Come on! Come on!" Yang cried as she grabbed and helped Summer aboard.
Summer picked up Yang in her arms once more as she ran into the dropship's main hold while Penny clawed at the dropship controls. The ship tilted and hovered sideways, one of its legs hitting a pile of debris before it retracted into the ship.
Summer held Yang close as she sat down. "Punch it, Penny!" she shouted.
Penny wordlessly obliged as she pivoted the dropship and hit the throttle, propelling it full speed out of the blazing processing station, fiery explosions erupting all around, rocking the ship and the passengers inside.
"Come on, come on, come on," Oscar whispered anxiously.
"They still gotta get out of the blast zone," Ironwood reminded darkly.
"It's gonna be close. Very close," Clover said tensely.
Penny kept a stoic expression as she piloted the drop ship at max acceleration into the planet's atmosphere, dark clouds behind it…
…then there was a blinding white flash of light as the processing station finally exploded in a 40 megaton blast that undoubtedly obliterated the colony.
Penny gaped in amazement at the sheer scale and brightness of the explosion. It was as if a tiny star suddenly materialized upon LV-426. Summer even shieled Yang's eyes from the blinding light as the explosions blast wave shook the ship, even as it was miles above the surface. But, other than that, the dropship was unaffected.
The four survivors had escaped just in the nick of time.
"Whoa," a few muttered in amazement at the explosions size.
"That was even bigger than the Nostromo explosion," Nora recalled.
"And they just managed to escape by the skin of their teeth, just like Summer did," Ironwood added.
"Escaping massive explosions is beginning to seem like a recurring theme in these films," Oscar chuckled dryly.
Penny regained her composure. "It's okay. We're okay," she notified the others of her headset.
Summer looked at Yang. "Hey. We made it," she said, out of breath.
"I knew you'd come," Yang whispered while Summer planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Awww," a few people cooed at the touching scene.
"So did I," Yang sniffed as she wiped a single tear of happiness from her eye.
"Now that's the kind of mother every child deserves," Elm praised Summer's counterpart.
Finally, back on board the Sulaco, Summer went to check on the injured Taiyang as he sat unconscious in his seat.
"He's gonna be all right. He's just out," Penny informed. "I had to give him another shot for the pain."
"That's a relief," Yang sighed while Ruby nodded.
"He might have some scars to remember though," Qrow assumed.
Summer began to lift the seat harness off Taiyang, but Penny stopped her. "We need a stretcher to carry him up to medical," she explained.
"Okay," Summer replied softly.
The three able-bodied survivors descended the dropship ramp and stepped onto the deck, the only significant light source coming from the air locks klaxon lights.
"I'm sorry if I scared you," Penny apologized. "That platform was just becoming too unstable."
"Oh, yeah. That makes sense," Vine understood Penny's reason.
"Indeed. In fact, with the amount of falling debris and explosions, they're very lucky to have made it out of there,"
"Now it's finally over," Marrow proclaimed, then frowned slightly at tempting fate.
"I had to circle and hope that things didn't get too rough to take you off," Penny finished explaining herself.
"Penny, you did okay," Summer assured.
"I did?" Penny asked.
Summer smiled. "Oh, yeah," she said, having finally gotten over her fear and distrust of androids.
Penny smiled. "It's such a pleasure that Summer has come to view my alternate self as a friend."
"We should never have doubted your counterpart," Winter said fondly, earning a grateful smile from Penny.
Penny noticed something. She looked down and spotted a few drops of liquid dripped onto the deck next to her shoe. Burning. It was acid.
Before anyone could react, Penny suddenly jolted and gasped in pain as the sharp scorpion-like tail of the Alien Queen emerged from her chest, driven right through her from behind. She screamed and gurgled as bright green android blood erupted from her mouth. [2]
In an instant, the crowd's relief and happiness turned to shock and terror. Penny and Ruby were the most stricken as both girls gasped shrilly and covered their mouths.
"Oh my Gods! Penny!" Ruby shrieked.
"No! No!" Winter muttered repeatedly, believing the android would be killed.
"Is it the queen?!" Vine asked loudly.
"You have gotta be kidding me!" Qrow yelled. "Where the hell did she come from?!"
Summer pushed Yang away while she grabbed Penny's arm, but the android was quickly wrenched from her grasp as she was lifted off her feet. Right above them, the Queen emerged from her perfectly camouflaging hiding place inside the hydraulic mechanism making up one of the dropships landing legs.
The Queen hissed sharply as she seized the thrashing, screaming Penny, ripped her in half, and flung the two pieces aside.
Then she descended onto the deck, her attention fixed on Summer who stared in horror and disbelief.
Ruby, Jaune, Weiss, and Oscar all turned green, but just barely managed to refrain from puking at the site of Penny being torn in half. Penny herself stared bug-eyed at her counterpart's terrible mauling, reminded of her body being torn apart during the fall of Beacon.
"I should have known not to say that it was over," Marrow facepalmed.
"And I thought we'd seen the last of her," Yang glowered at the screen. "But her royal scariness just won't give up."
"Just like in the first movie when the alien snuck aboard the shuttle," Ironwood recalled from the past.
"Go! Move!" Summer hissed at Yang.
Yang began to crawl backwards, her movement drawing the Queens attention.
"No! Here! Here!" Summer shouted in alarm, waving her arms as she backed away.
The Queen turned back to Summer.
"Run!" Summer implored.
Heeding Summer's words, Yang climbed to her feet, ran to an open hatch nearby, and took shelter under the service tunnels running throughout the hangar.
"Here!" Summer repeated her call.
After a short pause and a sideways glance to be certain Yang got away, Summer took off sprinting across the deck. The angry queen screeched and followed her in pursuit with frightening speed.
Summer cleared a large door and hit the switch, shutting it a split second before the Queen could reach it.
Outside, Summer could hear dull thuds against the door as the Queen rammed her huge head into it repeatedly. Knowing the others were in peril outside, she ran off to find something to help her fight her opponent.
"So, how is Summer going to stop her else can she do?" Weiss asked, unable to think of something herself.
"Maybe she can reach the armory and blow that royal alien freak away," Nora suggested.
Ironwood shook his head. "No. She can't while on board the Sulaco. There must be more than enough acid blood in her to burn right straight the hull," he reminded.
"Damn it!" Harriet snapped her finger. "That acid blood is such a pain!"
"Literally," Vine as he caressed his face, remembering his counterparts' demise.
Back inside the hangar bay, Penny flailed about on the deck, android flesh and intestines spilled out from where her lower half used to be.
Yang, meanwhile, stayed hidden beneath the grillwork covered floor plating of the narrow service tunnels. Right above Yang loomed the Queen as she turned her attention back to the girl; her heavy feet thumping against the floor panels.
"Great. Now you've gotta play hide and seek with the royal nightmare," Weiss groaned in frustration.
"Please don't let her see me," Yang murmured, gripping her armrests.
The Queen took a few steps away from Yang's spot, seemingly missing her…then backtracked as she reached down and ripped off the grille floor panel. Yang yelped and scurried away narrowly dodging the queens clawed hand reaching in to grab her.
"Come on, other me. Use those vent crawling skills of yours," Yang urged her counterpart.
Yang crawled as fast as she could to escape, but the Queen was faster as she kept cutting off the girl, ripping off grille after grille in pursuit until she finally cornered the girl. Yang looked up and screamed in terror.
Team RWBY also screamed in terror and concern for Yangs hapless counterpart.
But right before the Queen could reach in and snatch Yang, the door Summer fled through slowly slid upward. The Queen turned toward the sound. The door finished opening to reveal Summer strapped into a power loader, it's yellow klaxon light flaring. Summer raised the lifter's arms and drove it out through the doorway, its heavy feet thudding against the deck.
"Oh. my. Gods!" Marrow punctuated in awe, knowing an epic final showdown was about to happen.
"I forgot all about those power loaders," Oscar said in surprise.
Yang pumped her fists excitedly. "Oooh man, this is gonna be so awesome!"
Summer stared daggers at the queen. "Get away from her, you bitch!" she spat in full mama-bear mode.
The queen turned and hissed loudly at Summer, almost as if she understood the insult. [2]
The entire audience either laughed or cheered Summer on, their confidence in her as solid as a rock.
"Now that was a badass line!" Nora nodded fervently.
"Kick her butt, mom!" Ruby barked in support of Summer.
"Yeah! Go mama bear on her!" Yang shouted with a hand to her mouth.
Yang peaked out of her hiding spot at her savior while Summer raised the loaders arms in a battle-ready stance and advanced a few steps.
Undaunted, the Queen leaped at Summer, but the latter was quicker. With a grunt, she struck the Queen hard across its ugly skull. The Queen rebounded just in time for Summer to hit her again, sending her reeling into a stack of crates.
"Yeah!" multiple people cheered again.
"You can do it, mom!" Yang hollered.
"To confront such a terrifying creature like that takes guts of steel," Maria commended Summer's bravery.
"But how is she supposed to defeat the Queen without leaking any of her blood?" Elm questioned.
Oscar cupped his chin "Hmmm. I think I know one way," he said, reminiscing on the first film.
The Queen got back to her feet, hissing furiously at Summer.
Summer just raised the loaders arms. "Come on! Come on!" she goaded her foe toward her.
The Queen lunged forward again. This time, Summer caught her head in between one of the loaders arms, closing the forks on its head. The Queen screeched with pain and frustration as the two opponents were locked in a deadly embrace. The Queen snapped her jaws only a foot from Summer's face, her clawed hands thrashing.
Suddenly, the queen whipped her razor-sharp bladed tail at Summer, narrowly missing her head. Gasping, Summer released the Queen, the latter keeping her tail poised and ready to strike again.
"Careful, Summer. Or you could wind up like me," Penny cautioned, hoping her counterpart could be fixed.
Summer tried a few more swings to hit or seize the Queens head, but the alien monarch dodged the blows, seemingly learning how to avoid her enemies' attacks.
Elm pointed at the screen. "Look at that. She's evading Summer's attacks."
"The aliens are smarter than we gave them credit for. In fact, it seems like they're learning animals," Ironwood made an astute observation.
"Indeed. Summer has to dispatch the Queen fast, because every second she spends fighting her will increase her knowledge on how to beat her," Ozpin gave his own advice.
Summer shot a quick glance to her left and hit a few switches on a button panel inside the loaders cockpit. Close by, the inner air lock slid open.
The Queen leaped at Summer, who again caught the Queens head in the loaders fork.
"Probably the same way she beat the first alien: jettisoning her out of an airlock," Ren presumed,
"Clever thinking. It's the only way she can win without the Queens blood melting a hole in the Sulaco's hull," Maria
As Summer struggled to push the Queen toward the half-open airlock, the beast tried to impale her human opponents head with her piston like tongue, just barely missing her. Thinking fast, Summer hit another switch to activate the loader's cutting torch directly into Alien Queen's face.
Disoriented from the torch, the Queen began to flail in fear and rage while Summer closed the loaders other fork around her narrow waist, lifted her up over the open airlock, and released her.
Unfortunately, the Queen grabbed ahold of the loader at the last second, her weight dragging Summer down with her, the latter screaming as her loader hit the edge of the air lock and she and the Queen were both sent falling and crashing twenty feet below.
Ruby and Yang gasped. "Mom!"
"Oh crap!" Jaune exclaimed.
Yang stood up in alarm at what she just witnessed. "Summer!"
The Queen, now pinned beneath the loader, flailed and whined in an attempt to free herself while a somewhat battered but conscious Summer unstrapped herself and climbed out of her now wrecked vehicle. There was a service ladder running up the air lock which Summer quickly began to climb.
"It's actually a fortunate that the loader fell in. Otherwise, the Queen wouldn't be pinned and able to escape," Vine stated.
Ren nodded. "That's a good point. Now Summer just has to launch her out of the ship," he said, though he knew it was easier said than done.
But the Queen wasn't finished. She reached out and seized one of Summer's feet. Summer was wrenched down a rung, nearly falling to the bottom.
Thinking fast, Summer pulled down a heavy lever adjacent to the ladder. Beneath her, the outer hatch opened, jettisoning the loader into outer space; red klaxon lights flared inside the airlock. But the relentless Queen kept Summer's foot in her clutch, fully intending on taking the human with her.
"Oh double crap!" Jaune exclaimed.
"She just won't give up," Maria Alien Queen's tenacity.
Unfortunately, the open airlock created a wind tunnel in the hangar bay. Yang screamed as she gripped the edge of the service tunnel entrance to avoid being sucked into the vacuum of space. Penny gasped in panic as she was also dragged along the deck, barely managing to grab ahold of a floor grating.
Back inside the airlock, Summer groaned in pain as the Queen kept grasping her foot. She looped an arm through a ladder rung, just barely holding on for dear life as loud, heavy wind and bits of debris from the vacuum whipped past her.
The perilous scene had most of the audience at the edge of their seats.
"She'll be ripped in half like Penny!" Winter fretted.
"Or sucked out into outer space!" Elm added.
"Hold on, mom. You've come so far!" Ruby gritted out as she and Yang rigidly held each other's hand.
Finally, right before Summer's arm was pulled from its socket, the Alien Queen lost her grip and was sent plummeting out into outer space, shrieking and flailing helplessly all the way while the Sulaco shrank above her.
Yang and Ruby shot up and raised their fists. "Yes! I knew she could do it!" the latter clamored.
The rest of the audience sighed with relief or cheered lightly at Summer's victory.
"I think Summer's counterpart here is the most awesome one we've seen so far," Jaune lauded, prompting nods of agreement throughout the theater.
With her enemy finally gone, Summer used her very last few ounces of strength to clamber up the ladder, the wind tunnel still sucking in almost everything nearby that wasn't bolted down.
Luckily, Penny was able to catch her just in time despite the damage she had taken.
"Penny!" Yang cried out as she held onto the android only a few feet from the airlock.
"Thanks for the save, Penny. Otherwise, that would have really sucked," Yang said with a grin, while nearly everyone else groaned.
"You're welcome," Penny smiled, ignoring the pun.
"But close the airlock for the brothers sake," Winter implored.
Summer finally climbed out of the airlock and hit a button on a floor panel. She flopped onto the deck as the inner hatch closed, completely exhausted. Yang and Penny lay on the deck close by.
Summer lay panting on the floor for a few moments before crawling over to Yang.
"Mommy!" Yang sobbed as she embraced Summer.
"Oh, Brothers!" Summer breathed out as the two shed tears of joy.
"Awwwww," every woman, and even a few men, cooed loudly at the most heartwarming moment in the film.
"Oooooh! I called her mommy," Yang tears of joy brimming in her eyes again.
"I know! That's so sweet," Ruby squealed with her hands to her cheeks.
Penny smiled at Summer. "Not bad for a h-human," she stammered slightly.
Summer smiled back at Penny, cementing the end of her distrust of androids.
"My Gods, Penny. You're a mess," Winter grimaced in concern.
"Don't worry, Winter," Penny gave an assuring wave. "I'm sure someone on Remnant will be able to repair me."
Cut to the cryobay sometime later. Yang was showered and wearing fresh clothes. Her hair returned to its original bright blonde color. She gazed down at the injured and bandaged Taiyang and damaged Penny wrapped in plastic. Both of them were already lying unconscious in their cryotubes for the journey home.
"Good to see other me all refreshed," Yang caressed her locks, grateful that her counterpart's hair was back to normal.
"But how are they going to explain everything that happened?" Oscar wondered aloud. "The SDC made a stink about the Nostromo being destroyed, so they'll definitely be mad about the atmospheric processor being destroyed."
"They'll cross that bridge when they come to it. For now, I'm sure all they want to do is rest and go home," Ozpin said simply.
"I believe everyone would," Ren said, prompting nods and mutters of agreement.
Summer closed the two cryotubes as she and Yang prepared to go into hibernation themselves, walking down the line and stopping at the last two pods.
Yang sat on the edge of her cryopod. "Are we gonna sleep all the way home?" she asked Summer.
"All the way home," Summer affirmed.
"Can I dream?"
Summer caressed Yang's cheek. "Yes, honey. I think we both can."
Summer pointed down at Yang's shirt. When the girl looked down, Summer flicked her on the nose. They both giggled at the little joke.
Most of the audience chuckled or smiled warmly.
"She got me back from earlier," Yang giggled herself.
Yang lay down in her cryopod.
"Sleep tight," Summer bid with a smile.
"Affirmative," Yang replied, smiling back.
"I don't know about me, but I think it's safe to say Summer won't be having nightmares anymore," Yang said expectantly.
"Indeed. I believe she's finally overcome her fear of the aliens after her triumph over the queen," Winter proclaimed.
"And she can start a new life on Remnant with Taiyang and Yang," Ruby said, feeling happy for the trio, but also a bit of sorrow that her counterpart wouldn't be there to join them as a family.
The very last scene showed Summer and Yang sleeping peacefully in their cryotubes for their journey back to Remnant before the screen faded out and the credits rolled.
The audience applauded loudly. A few people even whistled with their fingers.
"That was awesome!" Nora whooped with a raised fist. "The final showdown was my favorite part."
"Mine too. Plus, it was very sweet to see myself and mom together," Yang said tenderly.
"Mine too. It was definitely less dark and scary than the first alien movie," Ruby noted,
"I agree. Although, it feels like a bittersweet ending since most of our counterparts died," Elm reminded with sorrow.
"That's true. But Jacques plot to bring back an alien was foiled. And it's likely that the derelict full of eggs was destroyed in the blast," Ozpin mused.
"Well, for those of you who felt this viewing was dark, you'll be relieved to know the next film is much more lighthearted," Gold-Sith informed.
"Hey, that's a switch," Marrow quoted his counterpart.
Harriet quirked an eyebrow at Marrow. "You just copied a line from your counterpart."
"Yeah, I know," Marrow simply shrugged.
"Well, everyone, sit back and enjoy the next viewing," Gold-Sith said.
Authors Closing Note: Well, that's that. I must say, I enjoyed writing this adaptation more than any other so far, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. For those of you who haven't heard, I will NOT be adapting Alien 3. As far as I'm concerned, the RWBY/Alien multiverse concludes with the second film.
Anyway, I'll be working on the one-shot multiverse fic in the next few months to come, depending on how my plans for the future go. The next update there will be posted in a few weeks. Until then, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Author's Points
[1]- This idea popped into my head when I first saw "Aliens". It wasn't until Bishop rescued Ripley and Newt was I convinced he was a good guy all along.
[2]- I figured I'd change the color of android blood to Penny's canon green rather than the milky white of Bishops for the sake of similarity. And besides, she's a different model from Oscar in the first film.
[3]- Given how frighteningly intelligent the Alien Queen is, I expect she knew that Ripley (Summer) had just insulted her.