The massive beasts slammed into each other with incredible force as the doctor tackled the mighty Alpha to the cave floor, mangling it's body against the sharp rocks. Daveberg let out a screech of pain as acidic blood poured from the wound. A large plume of smoke erupted from the cave floor as the acid began to eat away at the rocks. The doctor kept the pressure on as he drove Daveberg's exoskeleton harder against the cave-floor. Meanwhile, Stalker still had his hands full with Cystic Warrior. They would have to work their way out of here if they were to survive. Cystic Warrior beared his fearsome fangs as he leaped at Stalker, slamming into the fearsome hunter & forcing him back against the cave wall. The creature's inner jaw fired from it's mouth like a torpedo, slamming into Stalker's chest plate, the tiny, razor-sharp teeth barely grazing the hunter's armour. The jaw retracted & fired out again. Suddenly, Stalker lurched forth, his armblade shot forth from it's gauntlet as it pierced straight through Cystic's abdomen. The mighty black beast screeched in pain as it's insides were shredded by the massive blade in it's stomach. Stalker let out a mighty roar as he lifted the creature off the ground with one hand. Cystic was now dangling off of Stalker's blade, the effect of gravity on the creature's body was trying to force it to the ground, but all it did was force it's body harder against Stalker's cold metal.
The smoke clouding the air from so much acid being spilt had become almost suffocating to the two hunters. They knew that they must get out before they either choked to death, or became hosts for these deadly creatures. Stalker wrenched his blade from Cystic's body & tossed the badly wounded xenomorph against the wall as it's acid blood splattered around the cave walls, burning into anything it touched. Then it hit him- the acid. Stalker shouted to the doctor "their blood, we can use their blood to free ourselves!". The doctor nodded to Stalker & quickly turned his attentions back to Daveberg. Both hunters knew what must be done now. Daveberg lunged at the doctor again, but now the hunters had a different objective on their mind. The doctor lunged forth, grabbing the mighty Alpha's outstretched arms as the creature attempted to tear into him with it's razor-sharp talons. This creature was even larger & stronger than the Elder, but he did not need to outmatch it in sheer force this time. Wrenching one of his hands free, the doctor grabbed for his sacrificial dagger strapped to his belt. As he pulled his hand away Daveberg's talons lunged forth, slicing into his arm & tearing into muscle & tendon. The doctor roared in pain. The ear-piercing howl was almost deafening in the closed-in section of cave. Fighting to overcome the pain & his injuries, he wrenched the dagger from his belt & slammed it with tremendous force into Daveberg's knee.
The alpha screeched in pain. This was just the distraction the doctor had been hoping for. With all the strength he had left in his body, he grabbed the Alpha & lifted it off the ground. The mighty beast thrashed about as he tossed it against the caved-in entrance. Daveberg staggered to his feet, acidic blood was flowing from his body at an incredible rate. The doctor charged at the beast, slamming his forearm into the mighty creatures' head & forcing it up against the caved-in wall. Daveberg's acidic blood began to eat away at the rocks as the creature began to thrash about, only spilling more of it's own potent blood. "That's it, keep struggling!!" the doctor bellowed in Yautja tongue. Suddenly, Cystic was slammed into the caved-in wall alongside it's Alpha. Stalker once again stabbed his blade through the creatures' already badly damaged abdomen. Litres upon litres of xenomorph blood flowed from the two beasts as Stalker & the doctor forced them against the rocks. This had been their plan. The acid was burning them a path to the light, to the outside, to freedom once more.
Smoke erupted from the wall as the blood from the creatures melted straight through the rock. It was an incredible sight to behold as solid stone seemingly turned to a mushy pulp before the hunters' very eyes. A sadistic laugh bellowed from Stalker's throat. He enjoyed inflicting pain on these creatures, & their screeches of agony was like music to his reptillian ears. At last, a glimmer of light shone through the rock as the hunters pressed on. Suddenly, the last portions of rock melted away. Rays of sunlight shone through small holes in the ceiling of the cave, but they were not at the exit yet. The hunters had chased the rogue down into these tunnels before becoming trapped. They now needed to work their way back up through the tunnels to escape. Daveberg pulled himself to his feet, blood running down his entire body & searing the ground beneath him. The Alpha Alien had been badly wounded, but as long as he still lived, there was a great & immediate threat to the two remaining Predators. The two hunters raced down the tunnels, scrambling to find a way out. Cystic Warrior's injuries were too serious for him to continue the chase. His near-lifeless body quiverred on the ground, he could barely even move. Daveberg knew what must be done. The hunters must be eliminated, & Cystic must be avenged. Suddenly, Daveberg's massive tail struck out, slamming the massive barbed tip through Cystic's chitinous cranium, killing him instantly. At least he had put his fellow Hive warrior out of his suffering. An instantaneous death was better than lying helpless in a pool of blood & waiting for the end to come.
Daveberg lifted his head & let out a terrifying screech, he turned & raced down the tunnels after the two Gods of Death. Stalker & the doctor continued to push forward, at last, they saw what looked like an exit. Screeches could be heard echoing from further down the tunnel, the Alpha was hot on their heels, & was hell-bent on revenge. The rocks crunched under the two hunters' feet as they neared the exit. Salvation seemed only a few metres away. Suddenly, the two mighty Predators stopped dead in their tracks. As they stood at the mouth of the cave, staring out onto the scorched plains of this wretched planet, all they saw were thousands upon thousands of swarming black instruments of death, a sea of xenomorphs, hungry for blood. They must have eradicated all other life on this planet, & now they were coming for the two remaining survivors.
Out of the corner of his eye, Stalker noticed something shimmer in the harsh sunlight, barely three metres from where he was standing. A shocking thought suddenly entered his mind as he stepped out into the scorching sunlight & moved towards it. His armblade still extended, he drew back his powerful arm & slammed his blade into the transleuscent object. A shimmer of blue sparks fizzled around it as it's Cloaking Field Generator shorted out. The doctor couldn't see what was going on, but he could almost sense Stalker's shocked reaction. The hunter gazed upon the object. It was a towering, man-made hulk of technology. It was an EMP generator, immune to it's own effects. That explained why their ship had experienced such drastic mechanical failure, why they had crashed on this demonic rock of a planet, & why none of their own technology would work. A logo on the side of the device caught Stalker's attention. It read "Weyland Yutani- Building Better Worlds"
This had all been a set-up. This device had been placed here specifically to force passing ships to have their technology scrambled, so they would crash on this godforsaken planet, & become food & hosts for these vile creatures. They must have known the risks of housing xenomorphs in private facilities, so decided to study them in a more natural environment; & with the blazing heat of this planet, it would be the perfect place to study these creatures' exceptional resilliense to adverse environmental conditions. Stalker turned to the doctor. "We were never going to make it out of here, that's the way this place was designed". "Tell me..." the doctor said "what does it look like?". Stalker turned his head to face the army of black death that scourged their way, the sunlight beaming across the tops of their domed heads. "It looks incredible" Stalker said reassuringly, even though his heart had sunken knowing the bleak fate that awaited them no more than a minute away. Stalker stood beside the doctor, turning to his Elder. "I shall see you on the other side, my brother". The doctor turned back to him, "For Blood...For Honour...For Balatu, long live our mighty legacy".
A grim smile beamed across Stalker's face as the two hunters turned to face their final fate. Their combisticks' shot forth from their holsters as they prepared for what would be the last fight of their lives.....
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Far off in space, an object orbited the seemingly lifeless planet. A telescope zoomed in on the planet's surface. "Excellent, the Bleeding Star project is proceeding as planned" proudly exclaimed a man in a white lab-coat. We here aboard the Weyland-Yutani Reserch & Laboratory Accomodation satellite 2236 have made an incredible discovery these past few days". "We had the fortunate luck of having two test subjects for our work. The xenomorphs have gotten rid of any evidence, so we shall not fear a military investigation".
"This has been a great day for science; good work people".
Suddenly, the room shook. A terrifying howl echoed throughout the bowels of the satellite. "What the hell's going on? status report" the chief scientist called out. "I don't know, something's clamped onto us" another scientist yelled out. Pulling himself up to the window, the chief scientist, Dr. Adam Carr gazed upon a horriffic sight. A ship had attached itself to the side of the satellitle, but it wasn't a marine ship, it was a completely foreign entity. Marked with ceremonial carvings on all sides, & being of a completely inhuman design. "Oh my God!" he muttered to himself, "they've come for us". The door to the observation room was suddenly hit with a hard thud, crumpling the metal like paper. The scientists watched in horror. "Where the hell are the guards?". Blood-curdling screams echoed from the corridor outside. Suddenly, the door was torn off with frightening power, & a band of menacing figures forced their way into the room. Staring past the beings, Carr could see the corridor walls were layered in crimson blood, & dismembered bodies lay strewn about. He gazed up into the eyes of one of the creatures as it's mandibles clicked back & forth. A panel flipped up on a strange device on it's wrist. A recording played from the tiny computer- a distress signal from a hunter called Stalker. It was sent immediately after the EMP device had been damaged, thus re-enabling communications. The communications transmission ended with Stalker telling anyone who recieved the message to scour the planet's perimeter, & that Weyland-Yutani was behind it all. Finally the comm message was drowned out in the sound of gnashing teeth & spilling blood before it cut out. Carr looked up at the beast, a menacing look blazed across it's demonic face. Two razor-sharp blades extended from it's right wrist as it raised it's hand high above it's head, preparing for the killing blow.....
.....the tragedy of the Bleeding Star had been avenged.
.:THE END:.