AUTHOR'S NOTES~~~ Alright, here it is everyone, the retelling of the Hell series. Looking back, I didn't much like the flow and rapid development of the original and have decided to take another swing at it. Changes will be made to keep the story fresh, but at its core it remains the same; two hostile beings having to rely on each other just to stay alive.

Also, there's a video I want you all to go check out on Youtube. It's a great song composed by Kiochi that was inspired by the Hell series. The link is on my profile page. It's very somber and sweet and in my opinion, perfectly depicts the struggles of the two leads.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

The cold air entered the man's lungs, stinging them and sapping his body of the faint warmth he still had. He could hear his slow and deep breaths as if they came across a vast and empty landscape. It was the first thing he heard that wasn't a high-pitched ringing. His body still wasn't moving, no matter how much he tried to get it to respond. Ever since the crash he'd been trapped in a limbo of waking up, realizing he was alive only to then slip back into unconsciousness.

Every time he came back the cold of this world stung him again, and the winds brushed against his tightened face. He ran his tongue across his lips and noticed how dry and chapped they were.

"Aw fu- ah!" He groaned when the moving of his lips caused them to crack open and bleed in three different spots on his bottom lip.

The blood from his lip was warm but was cooled and froze in three little streams running down his chin.

'It's so cold. I… I'm gonna die here.' He thought with a morbid realization. 'I have to move… I have to get down!'

Slowly his arms and hands came back to him and he managed to take hold of the safety harness of his chair. His numb and unresponsive fingers were trembling on their own, making it a living hell to simply pinch the three clips that held the harness together. It was like taking control of a small infant's body; the cold made him so uncoordinated and slow it frustrated the man to no end. Yet when one clip finally came off it felt like he had achieved something as momentous as scaling a mountain. His right side leaned forward a bit but it gave him a morale boost and sure enough the next two clips came off, but at a price.

The man fell, something he was not expecting, and landed hard on a jagged rock that tore into his flesh and his leg made a strange snapping sound when it hit. He let out a loud scream that tore apart the silence of the frozen tundra. Every curse in every language he knew passed through his cracked lips until he regained the sense of mind to quiet himself.

He panted heavily into the cold winds. Minute by minute the pain ebbed but never truly felt any better.

The sharp rock had torn through both his dark green flight suit and now his left calf was oozing blood. If that snap he heard was to be believed, there was a good chance he had broken or perhaps fractured his leg. His survival training had started to kick in and already his chances were looking grim. Just for starters, his ability to be mobile was decreased, predators would be able to catch wind of his blood, and his medical supplies were in the remains of his space-fighter.

The man winced in pain as he tested his leg. He couldn't feel where his bone was broken but it hurt too much to search in-depth. Slowly and very carefully, the man got to his feet making sure to keep any unnecessary weight off his left leg so it wouldn't cause any more pain. He braced himself against a rock and slowly shifted more weight on his left leg little by little. The pain was intense but not bad enough to make him still think that it was broken. Relief flushed through him and he took a few hobbling steps.

'Guess it's not broken after all, maybe sprained or fractured,' he thought optimistically until he looked around.

All around him there was nothing but white, black, and grey. There was no color to be found, no greens, no reds, no yellows, and especially no blue. The white snow blanketed the ground and only black rocks tall enough to stand out from the mid shin-high snow were visible. But the worst part was the sky, which was a deep, darkened gray that blanketed the land like the Reaper's robes. It was a dark and cruel world, a bitter Hell for him to live out the rest of his days if help did not arrive.

'They'll come. No soldier gets left behind,' the man thought to himself with a small glimmer of hope. 'I can wait if I need to, I can survive this Hellish nightmare for as long as it takes. I won't die here.'

A small trail of smoke was visible almost half a mile away. It was the only thing that he could see and hopefully it was the downed remains of his fighter, but it was impossible to tell. In his Lancer there was a medical kit, a small carbine rifle, and a small compact bedroll that would all increase his chances of surviving drastically. A shame he hadn't the presence of mind but a few hours ago to ready himself for an emergency ejection properly, else he'd already have everything he needed. Perhaps his thickheaded pride finally would be the end of him.

'If I can get my supplies I can set up camp, shelter, and hunt any game… assuming there even is any. All I have to worry about is that Cornerian that went down with me. With any luck it's died in the crash.'

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

The lynx sniffed the air but the cold tickled her nose causing her to sneeze. The cold was unbearable for her. Even her fur, flight jacket and pants weren't holding back the cold. She couldn't stand it; her body was shaking and her fingers were losing feeling. Her home planet had never gotten this cold, not even on the coldest day of winter on the furthest side from the sun.

She pulled her gray flight jacket closer to her, shivering and letting off a pitiful mew. The lynx cursed her luck, she cursed the planet she was now stranded on, but mainly she cursed the entire human race for her suffering. If it weren't for the humans, there wouldn't be a war, she wouldn't be here, and she'd be back on her home planet living a normal life.

"Damn it!" The lynx shouted when she dropped her supplies into the snow, all of it sinking deep down and out of sight. She let off several more curses in her alien language as she got down on her knees and began sifting through the foot and a half deep snow. The feline's hands were burning from being so cold before the woman had fished everything out. Her small medical bag, blaster, cutting knife, two days' worth of rations, and thin summer blanket was all she had in the world now; invaluable and irreplaceable every one of them.

Feeling even more miserable, the lynx trekked on towards the smoke off in the distance. She figured the human had died on impact and she needed to get to its ship for the supplies and hopefully use the communications system if it wasn't broken like hers were.

She was on her last leg. If she couldn't send out a hail for help she knew she would die here. The lynx was never trained to survive on a planet as cold and harsh as this, in fact, she was hardly trained how to survive on her own at all. All she knew how to do was hunt for sport but even then, she never skinned an animal before.

Things looked dark, and the weight of this cruel world was already surmounting her spirit but she pressed on. There was still hope. Rescue was entirely possible as the battle above was still in her side's favor when she was shot down.

To pass the time she brought forth memories of warmer, sunnier, happier places. Times with her family and friends on the sandy shores of her beautiful home planet Zoness, where there were more islands and beaches than a person could count, and the weather was always so bright and sunny. Thinking of the warm sand between her toes, the sea breeze in her fur, and the sun casting a loving heat on her did well to keep the thought of freezing to death at bay. But the hell she now lived in would not let her escape so easily, and threw cruel winds at her to bring the lynx back down to reality.

"I hate this. I hate this and I hate those damn humans!" She vented, letting fly her good senses even though a dangerous human may be lurking behind any rock right now. Remembering the gravity of the situation, the lynx quieted herself and let her keen senses take over.

She sniffed the air, listened to quiet landscape, and looked all over for any signs of danger. She remained eerily still, like a cat about to pounce a crippled bird. As time went on however, she did not hear, see, or smell anything new. She could still only smell the smoke from the human Lancer, see the same lifeless landscape, and hear only the ghostly howls of the wind as it whipped by her.

Sighing to herself, the lynx continued on now that she was sure she was still safe.

The walk to the downed Lancer was arduous and was only made longer as she was trying to be as quiet as possible. When she made it however, she once again used her senses to survey the area for danger. Many smells assaulted her twitching pink nose, even the faint odor of human but thankfully it wasn't fresh. Still, she walked towards the cockpit cautiously, praying that she'd find the mangled corpse of the alien smashed against the instruments.

"Damn it," she swore when she saw that there was no seat in the cockpit. "It's probably still out there, waiting, watching." She said aloud while scanning the area, a sense of fear reaching around her heart making way for the cold to once again reaffirm its grip as well.

'What am I saying? I can't psyche myself out now. If it is out there, it's probably wounded and dying. Still. I have to be careful. I can't have it sneaking up on me,' the lynx thought as she climbed into the cockpit

To her relief she found a human rifle, more medical supplies, and a bedroll. Her first instinct was to take it all and run, run as far away as she could and wait the human out. It'd eventually freeze or starve to death but during that time her comrades might lose hope in finding her. She had to hack the human's com systems so she could get a signal out before it was too late.

The lynx took one more look around before she opened up her wrist-com and set to work.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

The human tensed and stopped moving. He was sure he had heard screaming but it wasn't human. It sounded more animalistic, like a caterwaul. His heart began to quicken until it was pounding in his ears. It could have just been in his head but his luck had not been holding up at all that day. If the Cornerian was still alive and it reached his ship before he did, he was in deep trouble. The Cornerian had his ship, his supplies, and his only weapon.

'God damn Cornerians. Worse than animals and always taking things that don't belong to them,' he thought while ducking behind a rock. The man peeked out from behind the rock and could see his ship. The wings were gone and it was sunk deep into the earth and snow, but it in better shape than he could have hoped for. He couldn't see any movement or Cornerians so he deemed it worth the risk to get a little closer.

Slowly, and as quietly as he could, the man moved from rock to rock until he was just a stone's throw away from his beloved Lancer. He hated seeing the beloved war machine in such a terrible state. He'd flown in many fighters of its like, but that one in particular had a special place in his heart. Though made in mass, BUNO One-Six-Three-Seven-Eight-Three, had always flown especially well for him. Like a glove fitted for his hand, he could slide into the old girl and feel as in tune with it as one of his own limbs.

It was fast, highly maneuverable, and packed incredibly powerful rockets that could punch through the shields of a Cornerian fighter in one shot. Unlike the Cornerian fighters, they did not have shields which made them vulnerable to laser fire, but the shielding made them slower and less maneuverable. Any seasoned veteran or green rookie could outfly a Cornerian.

At least most of the time.

They had fought for what felt like hours. A Cornerian fighter and a human Lancer danced a dizzying waltz of maneuvering and death. If either slipped up once, the other would take advantage and dispose of their opponent without a second's hesitation. The two had separated from their squadrons in their dance of attrition so they were overlooked as the larger battle raged on without them. After almost an hour of trying to gain the upper hand, they wound up breaking apart before flying head on at each other. His radar must have given him a false reading as he didn't see her coming at him, but when he did he fired a rocket at the craft. But it was already too late. The twin lasers tore his Lancer to shreds and the rocket overshot. He'd have died if the rocket hadn't course corrected in time and knocked the Cornerian's shields and engines out. Both crafts had been disabled and were left to lazily towards the icy planet, desperately trying to call out for help.

The man ground his teeth together and spat at the ground, the spit freezing before it even reached the snow.

'If I get my hands on that bastard I'll make myself a new bedroll out of its fur!' thought the man as he crept a little closer to the Lancer.

He was approaching from the aft end and couldn't see the cockpit yet, but when he peaked around his heart nearly stopped beating. He could see it; a filthy Cornerian animal in his Lancer doing only god knew what. The sight of a live Cornerian brought a new warmth into his body, a warmth fueled by hatred and anger. The only Cornerians he liked were the dead ones; the good news though was he was about to add this one to his friend list.

Slowly, and with his life hanging in the balance with every step, he inched towards the cockpit, being absolutely sure that he only moved every so often so not to alert the feline. He was unarmed but he still had the element of surprise and he could overpower the feline if he got close enough. His heart was beating so hard he was worried that the Cornerian might hear it through his very ribcage, but it hadn't already, not even when he was just a few feet away. It was so close that he could almost reach the feline, but as his luck would have it, a shift in the winds brought his scent and the smell of his blood straight into the Cornerian's nose.

The lynx immediately looked up while at the same time going for her blaster, but the human was quicker. He quickly leapt forward and reached in before ripping the lynx out of the cockpit and casting her to the ground. He pulled a fist back to bring it right down on its face but the lynx lashed out with a kick to his stomach. The man let out a wheeze but that wouldn't stop him. He grabbed the leg and punched it right in the thigh using only his knuckles causing her to scream in pain.

The Cornerian still went for her blaster but the human jumped on top of her and moved to punch her. She threw up her arms and covered her face, blocking the blow but creating a vicious bruise on her left arm from the brute strength of the human. She growled but wouldn't give in and she lashed out with her claws, cutting his green flight suit just above the black placard with golden thread that read Raye Belial, Captain, EMASC.

Raye pulled back and the lynx took advantage of him being off balance and lunged her upper body forward, tackling him and turning the tables into her favor. She drew her claws and immediately went for the throat, managing to nick him just in front of the left jugular. Raye quickly grabbed her hands by the wrists, stopping her from trying that again but started a very aggressive and hateful wrestling match. Both sides vied for dominance and to get enough advantage to get a good shot in but they were evenly matched. He may have been stronger but she was by no means frail.

"Fucking animal!" They shouted at each other simultaneously in their own native tongues.

The human quickly hatched a plan and pulled the lynx's right hand towards her left, surprising her as she was trying to resist him by going that way to begin with. Once she was off balanced he managed to throw her off and once again wound up on top, if only for a second. The lynx immediately brought her knee up just as he was crawling on top, and hit him right where he was most vulnerable. He let out a sharp yell and the lynx grinned evilly to herself before kneeing him there again. Not wanting to get it a third time, the human rolled off and away from the lynx.

Both of them got to their feet, though Raye got to his a little slower and was hunched over in pain. He tried to straighten himself but his left leg shook and caused him to falter. The lynx chuckled and reached for her blaster but found that it had fallen off somewhere during the fight. Instead she put up her fists with as much confidence as she would a gun.

"Well alright then human, come get some more," she taunted him and even though there was a language barrier Raye knew she was taunting him.

Still, he wasn't one to rush blindly into action. He quickly surveyed the feline. It was shorter than him by at least a foot and for some reason just looking at its cocky face he could tell it was female. Her body wasn't discernible as it was wearing very thick flight gear that hid her muscle sizes and feminine physique. One thing he hated to admit about her was she was a lot more dangerous than he gave her credit for before. She knew about his weaknesses, both his leg and the space between his legs, and she had already proven herself a scrappy fighter.

He slowly advanced on her, his fists up and ready to block any attacks but she remained still and calm. It seemed she was ready, eager for him to make the first move so she could counter. Raye made a small twitch in his arm and she readied herself to block it. Raye moved his good leg and she moved to block a kick.

'Fucking animal. Just hoping I'll run in blind so you can cut me off,' the man thought as he reweighed his chances.

Normally he felt confident enough to take a Cornerian on in hand-to-hand combat, but this was a very different and dangerous Cornerian. It was obvious just from her stance and fighting style this wasn't her first rodeo. She'd exploit every one of his weaknesses and fight with tooth and claw if she had to. One wrong move and his throat would be spread out on the snow.

'If I could just get a clean shot I could take her down easily… but I can't get close enough. Damn snow, it's clinging to my boots and making it hard to mo-'

As soon as the idea came to mind, the man set it in motion. He let out a very strong kick, but it came nowhere close to the lynx. Instead, the kick sent up a large pile of snow that splashed into her face and eyes. Momentarily distracted, she was left wide open and the human took the advantage.

Raye threw his fist into her gut, causing the wind to rush out of the lynx and pain to rush in. She let off a small mew just before the man's strong hands wrapped around her throat. Just as she could feel herself being choked, she was lifted off her feet into the air but then slammed down hard into the ground.

The lynx could barely move, only roll slightly while letting off small cries of pain. Her hands were on her sore throat and tears were welling up in her eyes. It was a sad sight to see, one that struck a chord with the battle-hardened veteran.

Normally, killing Cornerians was one of his most favorite things to do. It was especially easy to do since he neither considered Cornerians to be people or able to have real feelings. Yet as he watched the Cornerian lynx wallow in pain and small tears stream down her face, the man could feel no pride or accomplishment taking her down.

"Poor beast… might as well put you out of your misery." He sighed.

"You bastard!" She choked out.

Her back hurt so badly, especially in one spot where she landed the hardest, that she could hardly manage to roll onto her stomach. The lynx tried to get up but her body was failing her thanks to being air deprived. Her efforts became desperate however when she saw the human in its Lancer, pulling out his weapon.

'No. NO!' The lynx thought anxiously to herself when he started loading a magazine with bullets. 'Come on, Miyu! Get up, get up!'

Miyu's arms reached out and she started to push herself up but her left hand slipped when the ground gave out and slid away. She swore to herself and looked to see why when her eyes grew wide. Quickly the lynx scrambled to her weapon just as the human had loaded a mag into his rifle.

"I'll make this quick, kitty," said the man, no pride welling up in his chest like it had all the other times he'd shot a Cornerian down.

Raye lifted the rifle up to his face and peered through the scope. He didn't want her to suffer any more so he was taking his time, lining up the shot with the back of her head but she would not give him a clear shot.

"Sorry about this, sweetheart, but this Hell hole is bad enough without you on it." He said as his finger began to squeeze the trigger.

"Time to make this place a little more bearable, skinner." The lynx said as she took hold of the blaster and spun around.

Bang.

BANG.

A red bolt of energy and a .308 caliber round sailed through the freezing cold air. Both of the projectiles penetrated their targets and both Raye and Miyu collapsed in pain, screaming loudly into the air. The lynx's snapshot had nearly been fatal, hitting the Raye just inches from the heart while the human's act of mercy wound up missing the mark entirely and caused even more pain by hitting her in the hip.

Blood began to poor into the snow and the scent was quickly spreading, in moments the planet's predators would home in on it and investigate.

Raye looked at his wound and began to curse again. Now, both his left leg and arm were barely better than useless. He tried moving his arm but it was sore and made his laser wound hurt and bleed more. He looked to the Cornerian and saw that she too was incapacitated and tending to her wound.

He went for his gun that was in the snow next to him but then the cold hit him again and he noticed just how much darker it had been getting. Nightfall was coming and there was no way he'd be able to survive the night on his own. Already the cold was getting worse; freezing the blood solid to the front of his flight suit. His eyes were heavily burdened, the urge to sleep starting to overcome his better judgment. Just for a second he closed his eyes, but the next time he opened them the lynx was standing over him and pointing the blaster at his head.