To All Readers: I've realized I've made a mistake in the previous chapter where Lubbock and Najenda called out the exact distance towards the destination coordinates. Both were supposed to be using the metric system same as what the Motion Tracker based its data readings off of. And the Lake is actually half a mile wide, not half a kilometer. I've since made the necessary corrections, so feel free to check out the previous chapter again if you've felt that the information didn't make sense. As always, Thank you for your continued patience and reviews. And as usual, any kind of feedback is most appreciated. Please enjoy this new chapter.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 15: Unseen

Wetland swamp, Southwest of the Empire

Najenda, Mine, Lubbock, and Susanoo just stood there, gazing from across the lakeshore, trying to find anything that might stand out from the surface that may resemble the Derelict.

Mine peered through her Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle scope in conjunction with Pumpkin's eyepiece, and scanned thoroughly all around. "There's no sign of the Derelict being here, Boss. Maybe that means-"

"We have to be certain, Mine." Najenda interrupted "We can't just go back and report that Our findings were false, without making absolutely sure this entire area has been searched." Her view then returned to the murky waters "How deep can that lake get?" Lubbock was the one who answered her "A pond this size? Couldn't be any less than an a hundred feet deep. Maybe several hundreds on average." Mine withdrew her scope and adjusted her eyepiece "Would it be able hide an Alien Ship? Assuming one was sunken in?" Susanoo had started to wade into the shallows "Only one way to find out…" He set his weapons aside, and began to disrobe "Wait here, while I go check."

Blip. The Motion Tracker chimed with a sensor reading, causing the entire party to go on the alert. "Tracker's got something." Najenda held up the device, and pointed it in the lake's direction "30 meters out, and closing fast."

Everyone stepped away from the shoreline, turned their backs towards the thick hedge of trees, and faced the water, with weapons raised and holding steady. Whatever was coming, It was swimming below the surface.

"What could it be?" Mine wondered, her Plasma Rifle trained on the lapping current.

"Whatever it is, it's big." replied Lubbock, after catching a glimpse of the Tracker's screen "And it ain't stopping."

"Signal's clean." Najenda informed her Subordinates. Her eye remained focus on the Motion Tracker readings "Range, 20 meters."

"Wait for it to break the surface." Susanoo advised, before visually checking the ammo counter on his Pulse Rifle "We should confirm whether it's a threat or not."

Lubbock holstered his Service Pistol, and readied Cross Tails "If it's a fish or some aquatic animal, I could snare it in a net, haul it ashore, and beach it." Nobody argued with this idea.

"17 meters." Najenda continued "…15…12…10 meters." Large bubbles can be seen in the distance. "That's right in the shallows! Get ready!" she commanded." The whole team backed further away, wanting make sure this thing was given a wide berth once it gets on land. "8 meters." their leader counted down "7…6…5…4-!?" Slid! She felt Something coil around her legs.

Whip! An unseen force yanked at her ankles in a violent tug, and Najenda was instantly floored "Oof!" She was then dragged along the muddy grass and reeds, towards the dense cover of the foliage.

"Argh!" Night Raid's leader shouted in surprise, as she desperately fumbled at the ground trying to grab anything that can hold her in place.

"Boss!" Mine and Lubbock hollered in unison, while the latter flung Cross Tail's threads at their Commander and lassoed her cybernetic hand by the mechanical wrist Snag!

"Gotcha!" crowed Lubbock, just as he too was jerked forward as his Imperial Arm's strings went taught by the powerful pulling force "Whoa!"

Both Najenda and her green haired Subordinate where then hauled off into the thick treeline.

Before Mine could react, Susanoo seized her by the arm, and pulled her aside "Watch out!" Just as they both stumbled away, SPLASH! a massive shape burst out of the lakeside in a vicious torrent of muck and snapping teeth, and It was barreling straight for them Hroar!

Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta! Susanoo's Pulse Rifle sprayed a hail of gunfire, causing the assailing Beast to defend Itself by veering around and slide on a patch of mud.

Susanoo and Mine stood fast, as they watched the Amphibious Monstrosity righted Itself up and stalked on all four of Its stocky limbs along the wet marshes. It had a large elongated head, with a matching mouth that can fit a full-grown person inside. It's body was a jumbled mix of scales and exoskeleton, all colored a greenish brown tinge. A distinctive saurian ridge ran down Its back and along the tail, ending in a spade lined with tusk-like protrusions.

The Crocodile Alien reared up on Its haunches, and bellowed another guttural snarl Hroar! It then sat down and waited for Its quarry to make the next move.

"It doesn't look like It's going to let Us pass." Susanoo surmised. He then shouldered his Pulse Rifle, and aimed down his sights Ra-ta-ta-ta! The Amphibious Xenomorph held in place as It absorbed the burst of 10mm rounds fired into Its side. None of the rounds got any penetration.

"Its hide is too tough!" Mine exclaimed as she brandished her Plasma Rifle "Let me deal with It-"

Suddenly, the Crocodile Alien swung forth Its tail, and brought it down with tremendous force, sending up a shower of mud and water.

"Urgh!" Mine grunted while sidestepping to keep clear of the raining debris. By the time she recovered, the Amphibious Xenomorph had vanished from view as It slunk backwards into the cover of tall grass and reeds.

"I won't let you get away!" the pink haired gunner readied to pull the trigger, until her remaining Companion stepped into her line of fire. "Don't shoot!" Susanoo urged "We don't know Miss Najenda's position, nor Lubbock's. If you fire without a confirmed mark, you'd risk hitting them."

Mine donned Pumpkin's eyepiece once more, and started tracking "Damned Thing doesn't show up on any kind of visual scan. I can't get a read on Its position!" The humanoid Imperial Arm raised his Pole Arm, and began to mow away the undergrowth with its sickled blades "Cover me, while I flush It out!"

Back among the trees Najenda worked to free herself from that which binds her feet. Even as she and Lubbock slid across a stretch of marsh, then into a thick grove of trees.

Najenda tried reaching down to her feet with her left arm in an attempt to undo her shoes, so that she may slip free. But, between the force dragging her, and the weight of dragging Lubbock, she remained sprawled and helpless.

Lubbock yelled as he reached a hand into his jacket "Boss! Stay low!" He then drew his Service Pistol, and aimed ahead while squeezing the trigger Bam! Bam! Bam! The bullets streaked on towards the front of the couple, plugging into whatever had held the leader of Night Raid.

Hhhrssss! In a roiling hiss, Najenda's legs were released, and she was left tumbling along the ground with Lubbock crumpling alongside her.

"Oof!" the green haired trap artist heaped onto his feet, and hastily pulled his Commander up to stand.

"Are you all right, Boss?-" Lubbock's mouth was abruptly shushed my Najenda's hand, while her cybernetic arm deployed its Smart Gun cannon.

Hhhhrssss! A shape slithered along the trunk of a nearby tree. A similar shape can be seen close by over a brush. And yet another was slithering on the grove floor. All moved in unison, towards different directions, with each sharing uniform traits such as an exoskeletal ribbed texture, spindly ridges running along the dorsal, all colored a venomous mix of black, orange, and red.

"What the?-" Right before Najenda could make sense of what she's seeing, she felt Cross Tail's threads wind around her midsection and yanked her back down to Lubbock who screamed "Duck!"

Just when Night Raid's leader landed next to her Subordinate, a large Creature hurdled Itself from the tree branches above, and struck across the space Najenda had been occupying a split-second ago.

Najenda and Lubbock jumped up into a ready stance, as their Assailant reared up and postured into clear view. It had a long narrow body which coiled around many objects in the vicinity, providing balance and leverage. There were no sign of limbs, save for several protrusions running at length beneath each side below the head, which flexed and spread a wide membrane to form a mantle-like hood.

Hhhhrssss! The Snake Alien hissed once more, Its mouth opening to reveal a folding pair of large upper fangs and Its laryngeal second jaws, both flexing in a threatening manner. From the tip of each fang, a caustic yellow fluid dripped out and corroded anything that wasn't a part of the Serpentine Xenomorph.

"I don't like what those fangs might do." Lubbock remarked. Najenda tensed as she recognized the Snake Alien's apparent characteristic and feature. Without thinking, she seized her Subordinate by the arm, and shifted sidelong with her pack thrusters. A spurt of acid narrowly missed the couple, right when the Serpentine Xenomorph spat it their way. Sszzt! The glob of corrosive substance ate away at the trunk of a tree that caught it, effectively

"Why, you!" Lubbock retaliated by raising his Service Pistol, and fired several rounds Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The first two bullets whizzed past the Snake Alien's elongated cranium, another clipped It around the neck, and the fourth round ricocheted off Its dense cowl.

Hhhhrssss! The Snake Alien reacted, by retreating back into the thick vegetation of the surrounding trees, just before Najenda brought up her cyber arm's smart gun while Lubbock finished reloading a clip into his sidearm.

"Where did It go!?" The commanding assassin barked as both she and the green haired defense operative took up defensive positions back to back. Each eyed the greenery with dread anticipation as to where the Serpentine Xenomorph will strike from.

Over at the lakeside, Mine panned the barrel of her Plasma Rifle in wide arcs, making sure to cover Susanoo as he cut away at the marsh to flush out the Amphibious Xenomorph.

Swipe! Swipe! Susanoo's pole arm continued to cut a large swath into the thick of greenery. For every square-foot the humanoid Imperial Arm cleared away, his efforts were rewarded with telltale signs of the Crocodile Alien's trail in the form of bent grass and reeds, globs of mucous scattered about, and muddy imprints on the ground.

"Steady on the trigger, Mine!" Susanoo called out "I seem to be closing in." After shearing away one more patch of reeds, Susanoo stood back abruptly from what he found next. Spanning ahead of him, was a broad expanse of mud and soil.

With caution and precision, the humanoid Imperial Arm plunged his mace straight into the dark brown viscosity, and watched as it quickly receded before applying a firm suctioning force.

"Quicksand." Susanoo figured, as he withdrew his pole arm with a firm tug. He then surveyed the outlying boundaries of this terrestrial sinkhole. "Trail ends here." He surmised "Maybe It got enmeshed, trying to evade Me, and sunk right in?"

"Su! What's the matter?" Mine yelled, her sights keenly set on her Comrade's position. Susanoo the looked back at her, with dread realization "Mine, Get Clear!"

Tremble! The ground beneath the pink haired gunner began to shake "What the-!?" Burst! Suddenly, a large force erupted from underneath, catapulting Mine high up into the air, and sending her flying out towards the lake Splash!

"No!" Susanoo broke into a mad dash for the shoreline.

Hroar! The Crocodile Alien crawled out of Its subterranean tunnel. Then, with another mighty swing of Its tail, kick up another earthen shower to pelt Susanoo.

The humanoid Imperial Arm spun his pole arm, and deflected the cascade of mud and rock, unable to proceed further until the volley passed.

Out in the lake's waters, Mine came up to the surface after taking such a massive splashdown "Gasp!" Her arms splayed out around her trying to stay afloat, as she attempt to get her bearings and orient herself.

The pink haired gunner currently bobbed 15 meters away from shore, with the shallows only 4 meters from her position.

Bloop… Mine turned and looked behind her to see Pumpkin's waterproof case float up a mere 5 feet in the opposite direction towards the deep. She then realized she no longer has the Plasma Pulse Rifle, having drop it when she got tossed.

Mine then diverted her sight back over to land, and saw Susanoo flailing his arms to get her attention. "Look out!" he hollered urgently.

Out the corner of Mine's periphery, she noticed the ridged tail end of the Crocodile Alien slink back into the brackish water.

Abandoning all thoughts to make for the shoreline, Mine instead paddled desperately, and swam for her floating Imperial Arm.

"Nearly there!" Mine couldn't overstate the danger she was in. The only thing that can save her now was Pumpkin's trump card. She just needed to equip it in time.

As the broad case came into Mine's reach, she clambered onto it, pulling herself out of the water like a makeshift raft, then frantically worked at the clasps.

Hroargghhh! The Crocodile Alien growled viciously, as It breached out of the depths with jaws poised to chomp down on the pink clad assassin-Hrck! Only for It to seize up and choke back on an obstruction being forced into Its mouth. Straddled atop the Amphibious Xenomorph's head, Susanoo, had plunged the haft of his pole arm in between Its teeth, and yanked back as hard as he can muster "Got you!"

Like a riding mount with a snaffle bit, the Crocodile Alien was reigned back from devouring Mine. It thrashed and swayed about, trying to throw off Its restraint. In an effort to dislodge the haft, It shot out Its inner jaws Snap! Snap! But, It couldn't reach the upper palette.

"Now's your chance, Mine!" Susanoo yelled out "Get to safety!"

Left with no other alternatives, the Amphibious Xenomorph dove down beneath the water in order to drown a pestilent Susanoo, unaware that the latter didn't need to breath.

Mine dipped back into the drink, and began kicking with all her might. Her upper body rested on Pumpkin's case in order to maintain buoyancy.

Having made it to the shallows, Mine slid off Pumpkin's case, and began to haul it alongside her, as she plodded onwards towards land, never daring to look behind her to see where the Crocodile Alien and Susanoo had wound up.

SPLASH!

Just as she was about to step onto solid ground, the pink haired assassin got bowled aside by the Amphibious Xenomorph as it burst out of the water with Susanoo hanging off the top of Its head, his arms tightly wrapped around the Crocodile Alien's jaws.

"Gotta help him!" Mine pawed the muddy shallows for her dropped Imperial Arm, but had to dive out of the way, as the Crocodile Alien rolled about in an attempt to buck the humanoid Imperial Arm. Its own claws on Its stumpy forelimbs were too short to reach above Its cranium.

"Whoa!" Susanoo clenched ever tighter without letting up, even as the enormous Beast thrashed around further.

Amidst the churning water, Mine's leg brushed the hard corner of Pumpkin's case, prompting her to grasp for it until she had it back in her hands.

Whip! The Crocodile Alien brought around Its cudgel-like tail, and clubbed Susanoo on the side, sending him clear off into the distance.

"Su!" Mine cried out in shock, then wished she hadn't blurted her Teammate's name, which drew the Amphibious Xenomorph's attention to herself.

Hroargghhh! The Crocodile Alien emitted a vicious growl, and began to trounce straight for Mine, Its inner jaws snapping voraciously.

Mine frantically stumbled backwards whilst trying to pull Pumpkin from its case. Just as she placed her hand on her Imperial Arm's grip, the Crocodile Alien had lunged at her Hroar!-Wham! And a heavy blow impacted the Amphibious Xenomorph on the side of Its skull, sending It barreling aside.

Mine looked up to see Susanoo brandishing his mace which he had used to deal a punishing attack on the Monster before It could get her.

"That was a close one." Susanoo sighed in relief, as he reached down to his teammate "I'll need you to finish off this Beast, because I can't- Phsszzzt! Just before Susanoo can help her up, Mine saw something blast into the humanoid Imperial Arm from behind.

Susanoo's torso was suddenly blown open in a flash of light and blazing sparks.

"Hngh!?" Susanoo peered down at what used to be his midsection, only to see a large gaping hole with a scorched rim that was still slightly smoking. He looked up at Mine in confusion, and saw that she was not so much as looking back at him, but rather through him, with widening eyes.

The humanoid Imperial Arm had only enough time to turn around, and see a colossal sized maw lined with rows of sharp silvery teeth coming his way.

Snap! The Crocodile Alien's jaw bit into Susanoo's side in a resounding Crunch! Then, with an effortless jerk, tore the helpless warrior away from his lower half above the waist Squelch!

Mine looked on as the Amphibious Xenomorph held a bisected Susanoo in between It's teeth "Haghh!" a stream of blood gushed from Susanoo's mouth, as he poured the last of his diminishing strength into speaking several words "Mine, get out of here." The Genius Sniper merely stood there, the gaze in her eyes seemed distant.

"Did you hear me!?" Susanoo choked "I said, retreat!"

"-et…him…go…" Mine muttered. Her hands steadily unslung and opened Pumpkin's case. She then drew her Imperial Arm.

The Crocodile Alien thrashed Its head about, in order to crush and tenderize Susanoo, so that It may devour him more easily. But, the die hard Imperial Arm was still barely able to keep Its jaws wedged opened with his arms.

"Let him go." the Genius Sniper said more clearly, whilst brandishing her Imperial Arm.

"What are you doing!?" Susanoo gasped, but Mine couldn't hear him. All her senses were drowned out, leaving her to only see that despicable Monster which killed her friend, and to hear the forlorn pleadings of Sheele ("You need to get away from here…Mine"), along with the wildly crazed laughter of Seryu ("Justice is served!...")

"I said-" Mine wound back Pumpkin "Let-" She swung her Imperial Arm forward "Her-" She pulls the trigger "GO!" BRRSSSHZZZT! A blazing stream of energy shot forth and ran along an unfathomable distance, razing absolutely everything that came into contact with it. The beam struck the Crocodile Alien on the side of Its head SHLZZZT! slicing it completely off the body

The Amphibious Xenomorph's decapitated head came away, and plummeted into the muck of the lake's shallow. The loud splash snapped the pink haired gunner into awareness, and she hurriedly scrambled for the severed head.

"Su!" Mine yelled out, as she forcefully pried open the Crocodile Alien's jaws using the butt of Pumpkin's stock. As soon as the orifice parted slightly enough, she plunged her hand in, and desperately felt around.

As soon as her hand felt something, Mine gripped it hard, and pulled with all her might. She then backed away, holding an object of a peculiar shape. At once, she recognized it as Susanoo's regalia core.

"Su…" the saddened young woman held the core close to her chest

Najenda and Lubbock stood with their backs to each other, hoping to share as much range between them. Both had their weapons primed ready to shoot at anything that slithers. Their eyes straining to watch for every twitch of movement, and their ears listening for even the slightest rustle of brush.

"We're sitting ducks here, Boss." murmured Lubbock " We can't fight back, if We don't know where this damned Thing is."

"We need the Motion Tracker." Najenda muttered "If only I hadn't dropped it, when I was taken." Lubbock then thoughtfully held up a glove from his Imperial Arm "I left a trail of thread, form the spot We were dragged from. If we follow it, we could find the tracker, or at least a way back into the open where this Thing won't get the drop on Us."

The leader of Night Raid began to inch along, towards the thread's direction "We're out-positioned here, anyways. Let's fall back, and try to get to Mine and Su. We'll stand a better chance if the four of Us were together."

Lubbock nodded, then he and Najenda calmly shuffled along the trail of thread, while maintaining their back to back position.

As the couple kept up a slow pace, they became keenly aware of what their honed senses were registering. A stir of shaking leaves from the trees above. The branches creeking as wooden limbs bent under weight. The whisk of sliding exoskeleton over various surfaces.

"It's following Us." Lubbock whispered, his Service Pistol swept over every angle that generated sound. "We're being stalked, every step of the way."

"Just take it easy." commanded Najenda "Let It make the first move. Don't waste ammo by firing at random, or else, you'll leave yourself wide open." She smoothly panned her Smart Gun barrel attachment in wide sweeping arcs "This Thing's an ambush hunter. Only patience can be the deciding factor in this situation."

Onwards, the two of them progressed. Neither of them took their eyes off the surroundings, as the Commander made sure her rear hip kept on contact with her Subordinate's while he guided himself along the winding thread.

"I think I can see the lakeside clearing up ahead." uttered Lubbock, then along with Najenda, they upped the pace, before halting abruptly upon hearing a familiar sound Blip. Blip. Blip.

"Boss, you hear that?" the green haired youth looked around cautiously. Behind him, his Commander cupped her left ear with her hand, to listen better. Again another chime could be heard Blip. Blip.

"It's the Motion Tracker." Najenda remarked "It's reading Us as We approach."

Lubbock cast a sidelong glance at his Imperial Arm's lingering thread "The place where We left Su and Mine is not far off…" Najenda dismissed his suggestion "We need that tracker. Otherwise, We might not make it back to the others."

Going with Najenda's decision, Lubbock stayed on her six, as she quietly footed around the immediate vicinity.

Blip. Blip. Blip.

"I can hear it getting louder and more high pitched." Najenda cautiously rummaged along some shrubbery "It must be around here..." Finally, her hand felt the familiar smoothness of textured composite.

"Got it." The leader of Night Raid held up the Motion Tracker, and quickly glimpsed at the screen display. Just in time to see a large Object come at her at breakneck speed.

Hhhhrssss! The Snake Alien shot out of the outlying foliage, and struck at an unwary Najenda. Its fangs extended and poised to deliver an acid-laden bite.-Snag! Then seized up, mere inches away from the target's personal space, Its head restrained by a web of nigh indiscernible strings.

"Gotcha!" Lubbock crowed triumphantly as he held up Cross Tails. The Imperial Arm began reeling in its threads, causing the snare to go taught "I figured You'd wait until either of Us would let Our guard down. So, I've laid all kinds of wired traps along the way. Then, all that was needed was for You to strike at the most opportune moment, without ever knowing how much I was counting on that."

The Snake Alien jerked Its head and torso, Its extendable second jaws still trying to reach Its target who backed away as quickly as she could.

"You never cease to amaze, Lubbock." the relieved woman complimented "Of course, you'd spend this whole time rigging up a defensive countermeasure."

Lubbock beamed proudly, as he wove the threads to his Imperial Arm "You know me well, Boss. Nothing's gonna happen to You, while I'm around."

The Serpentine Xenomorph now began to thrash violently, further tightening the threads which held it.

"That won't help." Lubbock gloated "You're just winding yourself tighter and tighter.-" Sszzt! The familiar fizzle of burning acid started to sound out.

Twang! One of the lines of thread snapped loose, and the Snake Alien's head could freely swivel Its head about.

"It's trying to bleed Itself and burn free of the snare!" Najenda hollered urgently. Lubbock readied Cross Tails "I'll tether It with more wire, while You make the kill shot-Hngh!" suddenly his voice caught in his throat, as a constricting force overtook his body. Below his neck, a lengthy mass of the Snake Alien's tail had coiled around his person, effectively binding his arms, hands, legs and feet.

"Lubbock!" Najenda aimed the Smart Gun cannon, but the Snake Alien was faster.

Spit!

Another glob of acid soared directly at Najenda who raised both arms to block. Sszzt! Most of the acid spattered onto the Motion Tracker, forcing her to throw it away. But a few stray droplets managed to land on the hem of her shirt and on her robotic arm.

"Dammit!" Najenda cursed as she tore at her shirt, ripping away at the lowest strip, quickly disposing of the burning cloth. Yet a small trace of the acid still found its way onto her abdominals. Sszzt!

"Hiiiee!" The agonized woman double over in pain, her left hand patting at the burning wound, trying to assuage her seared skin. Her other arm hung limp to the side as sparks shot up from multiple corrosions.

"Hgh!-Boss!" Lubbock struggled to breath, as Snake Alien exerted a constricting force on his body, slowly crushing the life out of him.

Twang! Another wire thread popped loose, and the threads slacken loose enough for the Serpentine Xenomorph to slide out of the entanglement.

Hhhhrssss! The Snake Alien directed Its attention to a helpless Lubbock bound within Its coils. The latter could only stare with bulging bloodshot eyes, as the Former opened Its mouth to expose Its large fangs which flexed and folded clear to reveal the secondary jaws. Hhhhrssss! The pharyngeal jaws then opened and closed in preparation to finish green haired youth with a headbite-

Boom!-Boom! The back of the Snake Alien's elongated cranium had suddenly exploded violently as chunks of exoskeleton, brain matter, and acid blood showered the greenery behind It. The Serpentine Xenomorph tilted Its head backwards as Its life fluttered away. Its secondary jaws shot out on reflex, Shlikt! and narrowly missed the top of Lubbock's own head as a few strands of green hair were neatly sheared off.

The Snake Alien collapsed sideways in a crumpling heap, the coils slackening loose enough to release a near asphyxiated Lubbock who coughed and heaved for every breath of precious air.

"Hnguhh-huff-huff-gasp!" the youth crouched and planted himself to the ground in order to get his bearings, while remaining lightheaded. Then, as his fit began to wane, Lubbock felt a hand rest on his shoulders, which startled him into looking up at his Commander standing over him.

"Did It bleed on You?" Najenda demanded "Are you burned anywhere?" After a brief inspection of her Subordinate, she then eyed the Snake Alien's still twitching body.

"Wait here…" Najenda hobbled along until she stood over the Serpent Xenomorph's upper torso. Then, holding up her cyber arm's Smart Gun cannon like a rifle, she manually aimed down and fired Boom!-Boom!-Boom!

Having reduced to the target to a slimey pulp, Najenda strode back, and helped Lubbock to his feet. The latter saw that his Commander was favoring the right side of her abdomen, covering it with her left arm. Her robotic arm dangled loosely of her right shoulder, the barrel of its Smart Gun was still smoking.

"You're hurt." Lubbock stated morosely, but his leader just shrugged away his concerns. "It's just a small burn." Najenda move her hand to reveal a line of blistering puckered skin similar to what was seen on the side of Hicks' face. A scar is most likely going to remain, but luckily, the wound had gone no deeper than that.

"I'll be fine." Najenda assured "The acid didn't get me anywhere else, though a few drops did land on the prosthetic, and fried the joint servos and motion circuits. But the firing mechanism for the gun still worked. So, I used my other arm to take aim, and potshotted that Alien where It couldn't bleed onto you. Had to give It a little off the top, so to speak."

"That's an understatement." Lubbock felt along the top of his head, wondering how much closer the Snake Alien would've been towards impaling his skull with Its inner jaws.

"And what if You'd missed?" the young man rebutted with a tongue in cheek expression. Najenda made a sly grin "You'd forgive me. Wouldn't you?" That made Lubbock smile in response "I suppose, I would."

They both began to chuckle, until a stir of rustling shrubbery diverted their attention. Both of them turned raising their weapons, but quickly lowered them at the sight of a sopping wet Mine showing up with her Plasma Rifle held ready.

"I'm glad you two are alright." Mine lowered her rifle "When I heard the shots, I came running as fast as I could."

Najenda sighed with relief "Everything's fine." Then, she asked "Where's Su?" Mine drew in a sharp breath, and hesitated. So, her Superior questioned more urgently "Where is he?"

The younger woman slowly reached into her pockets, and brought out what's left of Najenda's Imperial Arm.

"He tried to help me." Mine explained, whilst unslinging Susanoo's discarded Pulse Rulse to present alongside the orb regalia "We were set upon by a large type of Alien. When It got the jump on Me, Su kept It at bay. But…something intervened, and he was taken unawares." She indicated Pumpkin slung across her back "By the time I ended that Beast, This was all that remained of Su."

Najenda took Susanoo' core off her Subordinate's hands, and examined it. Lubbock took hold of the Pulse Rifle, and unburdened Mine.

You said something intervened." Najenda glared at the pink haired gunner "What, exactly?" Mine began shaking her head "I don't know. It all happened so fast." Then, judging by her Leader's unconvinced expression, she did her best to remember "Su was facing me, when it happened. Something came out of nowhere, and seemed to have hit him from behind. Then, the next thing that I saw, a huge hole had been blown out of his midsection, stunning him. And, the next thing I know, he was caught between the teeth of that horrible Monster."

The older woman took a moment to process what she had heard. "You're saying, Something came and hit Su while he's distracted? Something like a projectile?" Mine couldn't offer a better explanation.

"Could it have been another acid attack?" Lubbock interjected, indicating the Snake Alien's body with the Pulse Rifle's barrel "We now know these Things can huck acid to deadly effect. Maybe, the other one did the same to Su?"

Najenda brooded, and dispensed with the inquiries "Whatever happened, happened. We should just count Our blessings, that We're still in one piece."

Mine felt bitter at the dismissal of this incident "But, what about Su?" Her Commander held up the Imperial Arm's core, and concentrated. A subtle glow can be seen leaving Najenda and absorbed by Susanoo's core. The glow began to emanate from the core in steady pulses.

"That should do it." Najenda huffed with exhaustion. She then reached out and held Mine's shoulder to lean on for support and balance "As long as the Core remains wholly intact, I can revive him in the same manner with which he'd been first activated and awakened. Sure takes the wind out of me, though." She then pocketed Susanoo's core "He'll be back to the way he was before, in a matter of days. Back to the normal Su we all know and love."

Lubbock felt regret at Najenda's anticipation for her Imperial Arm's revival. So, he trotted to the side alone to vent. "I wish she was a little more appreciative of Me, as well." he then kicked at the trunk of a nearby tree "After all, I was also in dire straits at the hands of a Xenomorph which nearly-"

Blip. Blip. Blip.

"Huh?" Lubbock's stiffened, as his ears picked up the recognizable beeping coming faintly from a distance. He could make no mistake, it was coming from the Motion Tracker.

"How could that be? I thought that device was destroyed from the acid." the green haired assassin checked his surroundings.

Close by, Mine and Najenda were discussing their recent Alien skirmish.

"These Aliens We've fought weren't the ordinary run of the mill types, if there were ever as such." Mine explained "Either of Them were nearly three times as big as the ones We've seen before. The One, Su and I fought, swam proficiently, and It was one hell of a burrower. Like some sort of amphibian or reptile."

As she was listening to Mine's depiction, Najenda fished a cigarette from out of her pocket, and began to light it. "It's just like what Ripley had seen in Newt's Spectator vision of the Jaegers' previous incursions."

The leader of Night Raid took a long puff, before continuing "The Alien's are breeding new strains out of local Danger Beasts, making Them bigger, deadlier, and tougher to kill." She then indicated the Snake Alien "And it seems, They can adopt the most prominent strengths and traits off Their hosts."

Lubbock's gaze swept over to where Najenda had been standing when the Serpentine Xenomorph, spat at her with acid. "She couldn't have flung it far…" he started to walk over to that position, while keeping the Pulse Rifle trained on the Snake Alien's corpse, and cautiously giving It a wide berth. He wasn't about to relax anywhere near the It, and risk being taken unawares yet again. Even if It's dead, 72 rounds in the clip should ensure It stays that way, if there be so much as a single twitch from it.

"We should report this to base." Mine urged "The Others need to know What exactly we're up against!" Najenda raised a hand to calm her "We've still got Our original objective to carry first, and that is to find that Derelict. Now, I'm almost certain that this area is where it's located. How else could there be Aliens out here? If some of those eggs residing in that vessel have begun hatching some parasites, they could've escape from within the ship, and attach themselves onto unwary creatures in the vicinity."

Mine was temporarily baffled by Najenda's reasoning, but had no other means of making sense of the current situation. "You still think the Derelict is sunk beneath that lake?" Her Commander took another puff, and nodded "It's the only logical explanation to what has happened."

Najenda took one last puff of her cigarette, then threw to the ground, and stomped it underfoot "We'll call base, and get ahold of Ripley and Hicks. They ought to have some sort of equipment that can help drudge up anything from underwater." She then prodded the blister of an acid burn on her midsection, before reaching over for her backpack "Once we have the Derelict in Our hands, we can call Akame's team off the search, and have them pursue their second objective back in Kyoroch."

Lubbock finally reached the spot where Najenda had previously stood. "If I had dropped a handheld device in a panic, where would it land?" he hadn't heard any further beeping, so he footled along the radius, until the front of his shoe brushed against a solid object. The curious young man bent down, and picked up the device. Much to his confusion, the tracker had been partially melted by a stray blotch of acid which dissolved away the majority of the display screen, leaving only the grip handle intact, and rendering it inoperable and unusable to the point where it can't have possibly made any chime of readings.

"How was this able to make that sound?-" Phsszzzt! Something white hot and scorching, whizzed past the side of Lubbock's cheek. And, before he can turn around, a second one collided into his back Phsszzzt!

"Guhh!" Lubbock croaked out in pain, and collapsed to the ground. Najenda and Mine overheard the commotion, and ran to investigate.

"Lubbock!?" Najenda called out, before spotting his body sprawled face-down with his back turned upward all blackened and smoking.

"Lubbock!" Mine helped her Leader in clearing away all the smoke, and examining the condition of her Teammate. A large black hole took the place of where Lubbock's jacket had once been, beneath it was a grotesque mesh of charred skin and winding wire threads.

"What the Hell happened to him!?" Mine cried out, wincing at the sound of something burning.

Najenda seized Lubbock by his shoulders, and attempted to roll him on his side. "Whatever It was, It tried to burn him. But, it looks like Crosstail's wire armor seemed to have prevented penetration-"

"Gasp!" Lubbock suddenly wheezed out in pain, his arms flailing, and his legs twitching. "It Burns! Oh God It Burns!" Then slowly, his eyes started to roll back.

"He's going into shock!" exclaimed Mine.

Najenda held the young man close, and began to pat his face "Stay with me, Lubbock! That's a direct order, you hear Me!?" She began to stammer, as she desperately tried to prevent him from fading away "Don't leave Me like this! Stay with Me, Please!"

"We're losing Him!" Mine panicked. Then, in a last ditch effort, Najenda pressed her face to Lubbock's, and nuzzled against him, hoping to get some sort of reaction. The intimate gesture started to work, as the glaze in Lubbock's eyes began to dissipate.

"B-Boss?" Lubbock pronounced meekly. Najenda began stroking his verdant hair, hoping to coax him back to consciousness "I'm right here, Lubbock. It's going to be okay." Her Subordinate began to plead hysterically "It hurts, Boss. It hurts really bad…"

"Fight through the pain!" Najenda urged "You're stronger that this, I know it!"

Taking as deep a breath as he dared take, Lubbock tried his damnedest to regain his senses "I'll try. For you, Najenda."

Najenda set Lubbock down very gently on his side in a recovery position. "Mine. Look inside the top compartment to my pack. There should be some supplies for first-aid in there. Bring out everything We might need to treat these wounds."

Wasting no time, the pink-haired gunner unlatched the pack's upper compartment, and plucked out its contents.

"Here, this one's labeled Anesthetic." Mine passed the first bottle over to Najenda who immediately drenched Lubbock's entire back. At first, the wound sizzled angrily, causing Lubbock to whimper in pain.

Desperate for any little comfort, Lubbock clung to his leader's midriff. Najenda winced, both from surprise and the agitation of her acid burn. "Easy, easy." She took the young man's face into her arm "It's going to be okay. I've got you."

Then, a sigh of relief exhaled from Lubbock's lips, as he ceased his shaking fits of agony, and relaxed himself whilst resting his head on Najenda's lap.

"Got another one here. It says on the label, that it's meant for severe burns." Mine handed her Commander another bottle, which was also doused all over the injury. The blackened wound simmered and wisped, as the medicine did away with the inflammation of the skin.

From the way Lubbock remained calm and his breathing becoming steady, the Anesthetic must have blocked all sensation to his charred back as it underwent treatment.

"Here, spray it with this." Mine offered a bottle of the same solution which had been used to treat her and Tatsumi's previous injuries.

Najenda squirted a light stream onto the wound, then lightly dabbed it with a cloth she had on hand. Much of the solution managed to seep through the many blisters and cracked skin, to reach the tissue below.

Mine stepped in, and used both of her hands to apply a roll of bandages, while the older woman held Lubbock steady.

After the initial first-aid had been completed, Najenda laid her Subordinate back on his side, and sat alongside him.

"We should take him back to base, and get him some real help." Mine implored "His back could get infected with all the microbes and bacteria crawling around out here."

Najenda didn't bother getting up. "We're not going anywhere." she said flatly "Not yet, at least." The Genius Sniper was dumbfounded by her decision "Why wait? Su's out of commission, and Lubbock's life could be hanging by a thread for all We know." Mine was growing more apprehensive, as she impatiently stated the obvious "It's time to cut Our losses. We should fall back for now, and come back when at full strength."

"Aren't you forgetting what started all this in the first place?" Najenda asserted "We've encountered Aliens, and wound up fighting for Our lives. Then, just as We were about to triumph over the threat, we get hampered by two instances of lethal interference."

Seeing her Subordinate struggle to understand, the leader of Night Raid deigned to clarify "There's Something else out here besides the Aliens and Us. And, until We figure out What It is and what It wants, We'll be better off holding position in the meantime."

Mine wasn't enthused "You'd rather We sit out here, exposed like this!? Just waiting until either of Us get shot at!?" Najenda kept up her resolve "I'm trying to confirm a suspicion. Whatever did this to Lubbock and Su, It waited and struck at the precise moment when both were distracted and far removed from the group." She then placed her hand on Lubbock's arm "I have a hunch, that so long as We stay close together and remain vigilant, we may not be assaulted."

Mine didn't feel assured a whole lot, but she wasn't going to argue with her Commander. Instead, she sought to replace her doubts with perplexity, as she trotted and bent down to study her Teammate.

"No shrapnel...no powder burns…whatever Cross Tail's threads didn't cover had instantly been cauterized, fusing onto his bare skin. He'll need to have surgery to remove strands of the Imperial Arm off." The pink haired gunner stood back on the balls of her feet, in a fidget "Pumpkin could make wounds like this, since it's energy based. The Plasma Rifle also, I think…"

Najenda didn't like where Mine was going with such logic. The only sort of weapons she knew of, that can harm Lubbock in such a gruesome fashion, was a one of a kind Imperial Arm, and an extremely advanced high-tech prototype rifle. Both are in the hands of her trusted Subordinate who had been standing with her at the time of the attack, which rules her out completely as a suspect.

"What the Hell else could've done this to a person?" Night Raid's leader bemused "Exactly what sort of weapon can make these kinds of damages?" She then looked over at the many trees and marshy reeds all around.

"There's something going on out here." Najenda surmised "Something terrible is happening, and We're just not seeing It." Ever since stepping out of the crawler, nothing made any sort of sense. The missing Derelict, the Aliens, and some unseen force interloping with the confrontation. Whatever this Unknown Assailant is, It's keen enough to stay under the cover of swamp's dense foliage, using some type of directed energy projectiles to stealthily dispatch targets from a distance. With all these factors in mind, if It wanted the rest of the team dead, they'd have been killed already. But if It's got some sort of modus operandi, It may seek to finish off Lubbock first. That's about as much as Najenda can deduce. Keeping Lubbock covered may buy some time, until They can learn more about their attacker. Or, at least, until help arrives.

Rays of sunlight began to fill into the cover of the surrounding foliage, as the sun climbed ever higher above the sky. "It's about that time, when We were supposed to check in with base." Najenda held up her hand to shade her eye "It won't be long, before Ripley and Hicks will come out here looking for Us…" She felt her foot step on something hard, and she peered down to see the Pulse Rifle's butt-stock beneath her.

Picking up the Marine standard weapon, the leader of Night Raid began to marvel at the M41A's durability, despite getting wet, dropped in mud, dropped again, and finally getting stepped on-

Najenda's heart then skipped a beat, as she came at a startling realization about why Susanoo and Lubbock were singled out for an attack, and not Mine and herself.

They were both armed.

Sub-Level 05, Atmosphere Processor, Capital of the Empire

Dorothea stared for a moment, utterly entranced by the pulsating mass of amniotic secretions occupying the stasis tank in front of her. It's shape vaguely retaining the xenomorphic visage of the pupate gestating within.

The Alien Specimen had formed its cocoon, and has begun Its metamorphosis to the next stage of growth.

"We've discovered the Creature in Its pupal state, this morning." an Imperial Scientist reported, he then offered a clipboard full of notes. The foreign Alchemist graciously took the documents in hand, and had begun rifling through the written material.

"Hmm…" Dorothea placed notes on a nearby desk, and slinked along the tank's exterior. Her wondered expression then faded into a furrowed brow.

"When this Thing emerges, the tank's confines might not be large enough to hold It." Dorothea quickly nabbed the attending Imperial Scientist by his short collar, and pulled him close. "Get a building crew down here, and have them construct a bigger enclosure for the Specimen." she commanded "Make the dimensions four times the size of the original holding chamber, and have it set up around the Cocoon. You have until It hatches, so get right on it!"

The Imperial Scientist made a salute of compliance, and hastened up the stairwell to the processing station's upper levels.

Dorothea went back to admiring the view of the Alien Cocoon. "By all means, keep growing as fast as you can. Soon, you will become Something extraordinary, Something sublime and glorious. The likes of which this World has never seen before…"

Revolutionary Army Main Base, South of the Empire

Ripley guided the pallet jack along a path leading to the base's weapons depot. The cargo consisted of the last batch of munitions brought down from the Sulaco. She then set it next to a row of similar containers, before retracting the jack's forklift, and pulling it away to park it on the side.

"Phew…" the former Warrant Officer wiped off the sweat from her brow. Her arms slightly aching from the impending soreness of so much menial labor than what they're used to. She had been working since the break of dawn, allocating supplies and materials all around the base, and it took its toll on her body's thin build.

The rest of the group had other business requiring their attention. Hicks needed to kit up the Revolutionary Army's main infantry, with modern military gear. Hudson was putting the finishing touches on a newly installed transmitter array, to secure an uplink to the Sulaco. And Bishop had to return to the ship, to check on Newt, and to correlate with the main computer in circumventing the launch protocols of the nukes. No one else, outside of Marine personnel, could be able to perform Ripley's task for fear of any accidents caused by mishandling.

Wanting to help ease the stiffness in her legs and shoulders, Ripley sat on a metal crate, and slouched a bit. She wished she still had the Power Loader to deal with this kind of job, but the one she used to combat Seryu's monster Imperial Arm had endured extensive damage from the battle. There was a spare, the one that Spunkmeyer had operated to prepare the first Dropship for the LV-426 expedition, but there wasn't enough time to figure out the means of securing such a bulky, complex machine into the second Dropship's hold.

The Colony had it's own compliment of shipping equipment including a variety of Loaders, Forklifts, and Cranes. All Salvaged from the Garage, but they had to remain on their conveyance trailers for now, since Ripley's Class 2 rating didn't qualify her to operate the Class 3 crane needed to offload all that heavy machinery, and Bishop wasn't here to do it for her.

So that left the Lieutenant with a measly pallet jack, taken from the bin it was paired with for toting scrap and parts. Then, after spending a few hours doing what would've taken minutes with better gear, she dragged the hand-operated dolly back to where she had found it.

As Ripley turned to leave, her eyes caught a glimpse of the many parts which occupied one of the bins. Most were Power Loader parts, modular components that are compatible to a standard P-5000.

Given that Hadley's Hope's dual purpose of both engineering a conversion of Acheron's atmosphere to habitable condition, and extracting mineral ore for marketable trade, there would be a comprehensive inventory of appropriate tools for terraforming efforts and mining operations, such as pneumatic drills, jackhammers, disc saws, and rivet guns. Any of which could be mounted on a Loader's forearm, or replace the typical vice clamp at the front end. There was even a pair of rolling tread attachments for the feet, in case of having to operate on soft or unstable terrain. Much of these pieces could prove useful in the field, especially since Ripley had demonstrated what kind of edge she was afforded during the heat of conflict. All it took was a little imagination on her part, as well as how gullible the enemy is.

"And that's why I get full shares, Parker..." mumbled the former Warrant Officer, as she reminisced on how the late Engineer used gripe and mope about how he and Brett felt like they deserved better compensation than what was outlined by their contracts with Weyland Yutani. The memories of her former shipmates hadn't bothered her as much lately, but there was always that pang of guilt which churn her stomach.

The feeling wasn't so much from the thought that Ripley would continue living while the others perished, but rather from how they let the complacency of the status quo lulled the crew of the Nostromo into indifference, when crisis struck. It started with how she and Dallas would always cite company policy whenever Brett or Parker would bristle about their share of the crew's compensation per payload. As a standard with any commercial vessel, the ranking officers start out with full shares, whereas the remaining berth would get half share, and that included the engineers. One way for someone to attain full share, would be through Captain's delegation. Brett and Parker would either need Dallas to mediate with relevant Weyland Yutani officials on their behalf, or at least acquire his endorsement, in order to renegotiate their contracts. Essentially, Dallas would be the only person how has a say in the matter. If they don't like it, they can put in a request for reassignment, and seek another berth. And lose time and money going through the transition and the accompanying bureaucracy. Even though the Captain had nothing against the greedy duo, he'd rather be comfortable with hiding behind the company's outlines and procedures as an excuse for putting off the issue. If Parker and his sidekick Brett wanted to be taken seriously by Dallas, they would have to prove their worth.

And prove their worth they did, holding the Nostromo together with spit, prayers, curses, and their bare hands, when the ship incurred damage after landing on that godforsaken moon. They proved themselves yet again, by siding the Ripley as the highest rank left charge when Dallas, Kane, and Lambert set out to find the Derelict, and then abiding Quarantine Procedures after Kane was brought back with the Parasite. Then, they proved themselves once more, busting their asses in fixing the ship to make it spaceworthy, so the crew would be stranded out there on that damned rock in the middle of nowhere.

And what did all that compliance, hard work, contribution to survival efforts get them? One got turned into gooey wall paste, and the other a lump of bloody tatters. And shortly after, all that's left to remember them by, was blasted space debris, followed by a handful of letters and numbers within an inquiry dossier which was subsequently and unceremoniously archived then digitally shelved inside some dusty backlogged server on Gateway Station. No further evidence on their final hours remained. No proof, that they had lived selfishly in pursuit of financial gains, and in the end, died protecting someone other than themselves so uncharacteristically. Save for Ripley, who herself couldn't even work up the brass, to tell-off every corporate suit, that she and her crew had been screwed over by Weyland Yutani, when it was the Company's very own protocols which had sealed their fate, and sentenced them all to die at the clawed hands of the Alien.

Ripley's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't the only survivor to escape the wretched fate of Nostromo's crew. Jones's was there by her side toward the end. That obstinate orange tabby could never truly comprehend and therefore appreciate the fortuitous events by which his own death had been averted. How Ripley envied that cat's lucky streak.

The former Warrant Officer had to swallow both her jealously and pang of guilt, leaving only grief. Although she ached at the thought, that she may never pet and nuzzle that whimsical feline again, Jones probably wouldn't reciprocate those feelings.

So long as Jones's has someone else to provide for him with food and care, he would never want for anything or anyone. That had been arranged with the auto dispenser installed in Ripley's apartment. Twice a day, it would dispense a single serving of preloaded cat food, alongside a self filling dish of water that circulates once per day. Should either machine fail, or go empty for a full day without replenishing, a built-in pager would transmit and notify ICC's Spaceborne Animal Regulatory who will then send an official to investigate the issue at the cat's place of residency. Once an official determines the apartment as inadequate habitation for a feline, due to the owner's absence, they may then take Jones into custody, and brought to an available shelter to await adoption or disposal. In the case of Jones, his eligibility for adoption may be render void, because of his age. Standard proceedings for pet adoption usually requires the animal to be no more than 6 months old, so that imprinting would be easier to achieve. A puppy or kitten can be considered much more suited for adjusting during its transition to a new family. Luckily for the ginger tom, there was a third option.

As a registered passenger aboard the Nostromo, Jones would have his own profile docket kept within the ICC Registry. In stark contrast to adoption practices, his age may appeal to any prospective crew seeking to give him a berth. Better for a ship to have a cat who had previously been used to long haul hyperspace travel, than to put up with the difficulties of breaking in another cat who that hasn't yet.

Ripley huffed a sigh to disparage her thoughts of Jones. She was here, on some backwater rock orbiting around God-knows-where in space, trying to placate a previously unknown human civilization on the brink of war, and all the while searching for some drastic means of preventing an Alien infestation. There was nothing to be done about what was left behind, only those in her immediate care matters now. That made the Lieutenant think of another fellow survivor of the Alien scourge, Newt.

Of all of the people she had interacted with, since the Narcissus shuttle was rescued, Ripley had never felt most compelled to connect to someone as Rebecca Jorden. Though she mostly understood it was maternal instincts brought on by the absence of her own daughter Amanda. Whatever the circumstances of Ripley and Newt's companionship may be, whether it was surrogate roles brought on by their personal losses, or just simple bonding through shared trauma, it brought out a strength from within each other which held true in the face of overwhelming opposition. Esdeath's melted ice, and Seryu's ashes were a testament to that. So long as one strives to protect the other, neither of their convictions will waver in the coming days of uncertainty.

Wiping her sweaty brow with the bottom of her shirt, Ripley stepped away from the parts bin. There was still much left for her to do, and like how it was when she hunkered down with Newt back at the Colony, she will have to give it her all in the coming struggle. Even if she had to lay down her life once more, and fight.

"-Ahem…" a polite cough sounded out, startling the Lieutenant into turning around with arms raised defensively, but immediately settled back down upon seeing a Rebel Soldier standing behind her in a salutary posture. Ever since her part in Esdeath's demise became widespread knowledge, most people here on the base began to address her and the others with a certain degree of reverence. The perks of defeating a much feared and hated adversary.

"Lady Ripley-" the Rebel Soldier began, but was cut off by a disdained Ripley "You can drop the 'Lady' bit. Just Ripley or Ma'am will do."

The soldier complied without skipping the formal tone "Ma'am. I've been sent at the behest of Sir Hicks. The Corporal requests your presence."

"Geez…" Ripley mumbled to herself "I'm stuck with the heavy lifting, while Hicks gets a gopher to act as a proxy." She resigned to her lot in the arrangement though. With all her pragmatism and resourcefulness as a leader, Hicks can still trump her with his own brand of charm and charisma which were just a relevant as these qualifications can inspire camaraderie and boost morale.

Ripley walked down the corridor leading into the adjoining armory, where Hicks was busily distributing firearms to rebel personnel.

"As soon as everyone gets their assigned weapon, please grab some nonlethal practice ammo from out of this box, and proceed over to the firing range outside." instructed the Corporal "If anyone is having issues with their weapon, please come to me, and I'll sort you out."

A long and steady line of rebel soldiers flowed from out the armory door. Most were sharpshooters from the Revolutionary Army's own Rifle Battalion, who had come to trade out their standard rifles for an Armat counterpart.

Out in the range, the soldiers would take turns shooting 10mm tracer paint caseless into target dummies. Since the time after the Mine's initial test firing of Ripley's Pulse Rifle demolished the range, High Command had insisted more delicate measure be taken to preserve the now refurbished facility. At certain intervals, target practice would cease, so that some maintenance personnel can wash off all of the paint, then the shooting would begin anew.

Back inside the armory, Ripley leaned against a gun locker. "I've just brought in the last shipment." She announced, whilst massaging her stiff shoulders "I should really get back to the Ship, and check on Newt."

Hicks turned away from the crowd of allocation recipients "Could you please wait a while? Night Raid should be checking in at their assigned coordinates, at any given moment. When that time comes, we're going to need you to give us a lift to whomever finds that Derelict."

"You might as well fire up the Dropship, already." Hudson appeared at rear of the line, with a short young man holding the Imperial Arm Scream, in attendance. "This little fella just came from High Command, to inform Us of a developing situation."

Most of the Revolutionary Army Soldiers stirred up a commotion, until Hicks raised his hands to quiet them down.

"What's the word, Hudson?" the Corporal asked the ComTech.

"We've got a call from Akame's team." Hudson announced "They're closing in on their destination, and should reach it this afternoon."

Another stir of gossip sounded all around, until Ripley had to shush them.

"And what of Najenda's group?" the Lieutenant pressed apprehensively. The short Imperial Arms user stepped forward and merely shook his head while shrugging.

Everyone began to gasp, and took to conversing with one another once more.

Ripley threw Hicks a severe glance "Najenda's never one to miss something as important as checking in as scheduled." Hicks nodded in tacit agreement "Which means something must've happened."

Not wanting to waste a second, Ripley darted for the door, and hastened for the Dropship landing pad.

Taking a deep breath, the Corporal spoke up over the chattering crowd "Alright, listen up!" Everybody stood at attention, to hear what he had to say. "Some of the members of Night Raid could be in serious trouble. I need twenty volunteers to help bail them out. Preferably those who's got an endorsement for completing training on one of our weapons."

After a momentary shuffle, a near two dozen rebels assembled front and center.

Taking a Pulse Rifle from a nearby rack, Hicks led the rescue team in marching out towards their transport. "Hudson" he called out orders back over at the ComTech "get on comms, and run an equipment check on everything. Make sure there's nothing on Our end that's preventing Najenda's team from getting through to Us. Also, get the Sulaco on the horn, and bring Bishop up to speed. Let him know what's going on down here, and to standby on providing assistance."

"I'm on it." Hudson made his way over to the base's uplink assembly "After all, communications networking and surveillance is my specialty."

Wetland swamp, Southwest of the Empire

Mine wrung out the last wet portion of her skirt between her hands. It's been some time, since she began drying up her clothes drip by drip, hoping to prevent catching a cold. But now, an uncomfortable dampness was starting to set in. She'd rather hold Pumpkin, and use the Imperial Arm's venting heatsink as a steam press, though her Commander had insisted that they both keep their hands clear.

On the side, Najenda sat on a log, with Lubbock laying next to her feet. Slung across her back, was the Pulse Rifle which Lubbock and Su had once held.

"It's been over an hour." Mine eagerly waited for her Commander's decision to fall back to the Daihotai Tractor. Though the past sixty minutes were quiet and uneventful, neither of them bothered to move from position. Her constant scan of the surroundings with Pumpkin's eyepiece yielded nothing distinctive from the thick greenery. Yet, she can't help but sense they were under observation. "We've haven't seen anything this whole time."

Najenda furrowed her brow "Ripley and Hicks should already be heading Our way. Once they get here, they'll first be looking for the crawler." she then caught a glimpse of Pumpkin's case and its owner idly leaning on it. "How's your Imperial Arm?" she asked.

"Still overheated." the Genius Sniper cracked open the case, to let several small wisps of steam vent out from underneath the cover.

With a grunt, the leader of Night Raid stood up off her seat. "I guess it's time We get going. I don't want the Ripley and the others risk making themselves vulnerable by searching for Us out here." She bent down, and shook Lubbock's shoulder "Lubbock, can you hear me?"

"Hrnmm?" Lubbock groaned, but his eyes remained shut. "C'mon, get up." Najenda coaxed him back to consciousness "We need you on your feet."

The young man's eyes fluttered open, and he mumbled something incoherent "Mmhmmm…"

Najenda took hold of her Subordinate's arm, and gently began to heft it "It's time to go. We can't stay out here." She wrapped his arm around her left shoulder "Can you move?"

Lubbock concentrated on moving his extremities, his numb back refusing to provide support had forced him to lean on his Commander, as he slowly placed his feet beneath him.

"The crawler is back this way." Mine pointed "We'll have to cut back through the long grass around the lakeshore, to get to Our original path."

"Very well." Najenda concurred "Let's stay close together. And remember, don't equip your weapons, unless you see a clear visible threat."

Mine nodded, as she slung the Plasma Rifle across her back, and held Pumpkin's case up by the handle. The Imperial Arm's eyepiece remained on her head, to aid in navigating the way back to the Tractor.

Gathering up Lubbock, Najenda wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, and secure his wrist to her hand for leverage. The carry position was awkward, since she was half a head taller than her green haired Subordinate, but she'd rather not reach around his own back for fear of agitating the burn wounds. Luckily, Lubbock managed to cling to the limply hanging cyber-arm which helped steadily prop him up.

With Lubbock hunched beside her, on wobbly legs, and with Mine taking lead and point-man, Najenda moved her group through the swamp.

Their trek wasn't easy.

With Lubbock still under the influence of the anesthetic and his injuries further handicapping him, a lazy stagger was all he could manage, forcing Najenda to walk even slower to match pace. Same with Mine, who had to stop frequently, and wait for the two to catch up. Her hard expression made her frustration obvious at the slow progress they're making.

After a time, the trio finally came to the lakeside.

And, it was there along the tall marshes, when Lubbock's feet buckled, and his legs gave out from under him. His fall caught Najenda by surprise, as she also collapsed alongside him. Up ahead, Mine glanced back and stopped abruptly, before hanging back to see if the others needed help.

"You should leave me…" Lubbock muttered, embarrassed at how pathetically burdensome he let himself become to his Commander "I'm slowing you down…"

Najenda merely stood back up, and brushed herself off. "Not gonna happen." she rebuked tersely, more perturbed about the latter suggestion than the former statement. "No one's getting left behind on this mission. Not on My watch."

The leader of Night Raid bent down, and studied Lubbock's crumpled figure. She then propped him up on his knees, and made ready to drape his stomach onto her shoulder. "We're all going back, together. Even if I have to carry you myself." though, she can imagine the young man wouldn't complain about that prospect-

Wwrrlrlrlrrkrkrk…

Something appeared out the corner of Najenda's eye. Stimulated by her peripheral vision, she swerved her head, facing her left towards the person she was about to hoist up. There, placed on the young man's neck, was a trio of red dots arranged in a triangular shape. The dotted triangle began to scroll itself up along the side of Lubbock's face, until it rested above his ear on his right temple.

"Hrrgh!?" Najenda had barely reacted, throwing herself forward on reflex, and covered the side of Lubbock's head with her own body.

Phsszzzt! A bright bolt of energy came out of nowhere, and bore itself into Najenda's prosthetic right arm. The metallic limb exploded in a small but violent blast, knocking her down and shoving Lubbock aside, as she clung to the stump on her right shoulder in pain "Gagh!"

"Boss!?" Mine rushed to her Commander's aid, but was warded away.

"Go!" Najenda screamed at Mine "Get to the Tractor!" She flailed her remaining arm, as if to bat away her Subordinate's approach. But, the Genius Sniper had other plans.

"Forget it!" Mine barked back "I'm not leaving anyone this time." She then dropped Pumpkin's case, and lugged it up to stand on one end. Using the Imperial Arm's eyepiece, she quickly analyzed the trajectory of the force which downed her leader, and adjusted her cover in accordance to the determined direction of the projectile's origin. This left her facing the wide sprawl of tall grass and reeds to her front and sides, and her back positioned towards the lake.

Aside from Pumpkin's hard case protecting her immediate fore, Mine's left and right flanks and rear remain exposed. But, the Genius Sniper wasn't wholly concerned. Her eyepiece had already deduced that the shot came come from the treeline at the other end of the marsh, several tens of meters from the water. The shooter would've only been able to get a straight view on those standing up over the brush, or sitting at the shoreline. Anybody lying down flat would be out of the line of sight. Such were Najenda and Lubbock, with the former taking a flathead screwdriver out of her pack to pry off the sparking stump of a right arm, and the latter slowly crawling toward her to provide assistance.

"Let me…" Lubbock insisted, reaching for the tool. But his Commander shooed him away "I can handle this." she then unslung the Pulse Rifle off her shoulder "Take this, and cover Mine."

Staying low, mainly due to his injuries rather than adherence to maintaining cover, Lubbock slunked along a patch of reeds, and propped himself up to place Mine's proximity within his sights.

Hunkered behind the bulk of Pumpkin's case, Mine called out to her Commander "Talk to Me, Boss! What can you say, that may be of use?"

Najenda twisted the flathead, and unscrewed several "It's using a tri-point designator for precise targeting. Color is scorching red, triangular, and spot-on accurate…" With a dull metal pop!, she managed to decouple the cybernetic stump off her shoulder joint. "The projectile is low velocity, and glows bright white at high density. You'll see it coming, once fired."

The metal slag of a prosthetic continued to spark, so Najenda kicked it as far away from her as possible. "There's plenty of concussive force behind that bolt of energy. Whatever it can't sear its way through, it'll detonate with a minute explosion."

Mine readied her Plasma Rifle, and issued a challenge "I'm your opponent now, Whoever the hell You are!" She then tilted her head at Najenda and Lubbock "You want them? Then, You're gonna have to go through Me!"

After the declaration, the stillness resettled over the swamp, pervading through the dull sighs of swaying reeds and lapping of the lake's water.

Wwrrlrlrlrrkrkrk Something warbled out from the surrounding doldrums, exemplified by the quagmire ambience. The sound was too proliferate to pin down Its origin, but It definitely entailed as something living, vaguely animal, and far from friendly.

Mine kept vigilance, as she calmly toggled the settings to Pumpkin's eyepiece. "Switching to Contrast mode…" the imaging through the eyepiece became more saturated with vibrant green, as it grew more hypersensitive to spectral deviations. Anything in view will be seen in their primary color from the base spectrum. The process has now rendered Mine's sight of the swamp in a stark mesh of green from the vegetation. Anything derived from the color red, no matter how small, would instantly be detected.

"…h…h…he…he…he…" a sound never heard of spilled from out of nowhere "…he…he…hehehe!" it began to grow louder and more distinct, like a garbled voice, albeit compressed and heavily synthesized as if it was passing through an electronic speaker.

"ha-ha-ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Mine flinched at the rambling laughter. To her, it sounded hollow, like nothing any normal person should make.

But what came next jarred her nerves.

"Night Raid!" The voice adopted a tone belonging very much to someone familiar. Someone the Genius Sniper never thought she'd hear from again. "Your day of Judgment is finally here!"

"Impossible…" Mine's eyes widen with disbelief, her mind struggling to affirm the recent memory she had of Seryu's demise, the one person whose deplorably bombastic voice is now ringing out all over the swamp.

"It's a trick!" Najenda called out "This Thing's mimicking Seryu Ubiquitous, in order to psyche You out. Don't let It!"

"It's a trick-It's a trick…" the voice has now taken to mimicking Night Raid's leader.

"Quit it, Asshole!" Lubbock yelled, but the voice continued It's mockery "It Burns! Oh God It Burns!"

"That's enough out of You!" Mine snarled, then fired a warning shot into the surrounding trees Brrzzjrrr! A bright beam of violet light jetted through the air, and hit a branch in a violent scorching blast Phsszzzr!

The swamp became quiet again, until Lubbock's voice rang out "Mine! On Your Left!" Mine swung around to aim at her left side, only to meet the stupefied gaze of her green haired Teammate. That was all Mine needed to see, to realize what had just happened.

Lubbock wasn't the one who shouted.

The Genius Sniper had been duped by one of the oldest trick in the book. The mimic had perfectly vocalized Lubbock's voice, taking advantage of the target's deference from the artificially modulated, to the genuine. And, It chose the moment of highest tension, to spring the ploy.

Turning as fast as she can muster, Mine spun back around to face the real danger, even as Lubbock frantically plugged away with the Pulse Rifle, Ra-ta-ta-ta! The sound of the shots rose to meet the overbearing legitimate holler from Najenda "Mine, look out!"

Just as she was about to complete her turn, Mine's eyepiece showed three thin beams of red along her periphery. When she came to face the beams' point of origin, all she saw was a hazy silhouette off in the distance. At the same time, the trio of red lines converged at the bottom of Mine's cheek, then scrolled up to her forehead. Phsszzzt!-

Bam! Najenda took a shot with Lubbock's Service Pistol, using its laser designator to aim for the top corner of Pumpkin's case. The durable object tottered aside, and twirled into the path of the energy bolt streaking toward Mine's head.

Phsszzzr! The projectile struck reinforced metal, and exploded in a loud violent burst. The concussive force propelled the obstruction, sending it straight at the intended target.

Wham! The broad case clouted Mine, knocking her to the ground, then lay across her stomach when it landed.

"Urgh!" Mine had barely enough time to choke out a gasp of shock, before Pumpkin's case slammed into her body again after absorbing a second energy blast.

"Lay off!" Lubbock growled as he kept firing the Pulse Rifle, its rounds sprayed everywhere in the hopes of suppressing the assault Ra-ta-ta-ta-click! The double zeros on the ammo counter had made him realize that the clip was now empty.

Yet, more energy bolts continued to race towards Mine Phsszzzt-Phsszzzt-Phsszzzt!. One hit the ground near her left arm, its blast was close enough to send up a shower of sparks. The next bolt ignited a patch of grass above her head, causing her to roll away clear from the blaze, even as the third bolt nearly clipped her right shin, the heat making her skin blister.

"Dammit all!" Lubbock swore, as he worked the pump action of the grenade launcher Ch-chk! Instead of searching for a target he couldn't locate, he promptly aimed the weapon to the ground at a distance, and pulled the lower trigger Plunk! The explosive round flew straight, and skimmed over wet grass, before embedding itself into a spot of mud.

Kaboom! The detonation sent up a geyser of muck and foliage, which spattered all around a large radius.

As the last of the offscouring crumpled back to the ground, the deadly energy barrage had ceased, and the previous stillness had resumed.

Mine quickly gathered herself, and stood up, taking care not to turn away from the direction which her assailant took all those pot shots.

The fire left by the volley crackled and hissed, as it burned voraciously, reducing the grass on which it ignited to cinders. Due to the abundant moisture of a wet environment, there was no risk of wildfire breaking out, and the flames had already begun to recede and die down.

Not wanting to get burned, in case the surrounding grass does get lit up, Mine backpedaled until she entered a into a clearing from the dense green.

"Mine!" Najenda yelled "Where'd you go?" Hers and Lubbock's view of the pink haired gunner were skewed by the fire and the accompanying smoke.

"I'm okay." Mine responded "I've just stepped away from the burning mess."

"Well, make your way back to us." The older woman commanded "We need to regroup and re-strategize."

Mine made to step back towards the dense reeds, but her feet kept in place refusing to budge despite her strenuous efforts to move. "Huh?-!" she yanked up a length of her skirt, which revealed her legs having sunk halfway below the surface of dark mud, the muck reaching right above her calves. And she steadily continued to sink inch-by-inch, her knees barely hanging above.

"Quicksand!" Mine screamed, her arms flailing to reach over to solid ground, but to no avail. She was too far within the patch, beyond arms-length. Her struggle caused her to sink much faster, plunging her down to her waist.

"Don't Move!" Najenda barked "The more You struggle, the faster You'll sink!"

Mine ceased her flailing, and held up her arms. Her Plasma Pulse Rifle rest above her hands. If the boss or Lubbock got to her in time, they may use the lengthy weapon as a means of pulling the pink haired gunner out.

Rustle! The long grass parted to show Lubbock crawling along the embankment "There you are." The injured young man would have guffawed at seeing the pinkette up to her midriff in mud, but this wasn't the time for any childish jabs or banter.

"Lubbock!" Mine pleaded, her hand desperately reaching out "Get Me out of this. Hurry!"

The green haired bookstore owner didn't waste any time in bringing out Cross Tails, and unspooled a length of slack. Once he knotted a wide braided noose, Lubbock began twirling the lasso, and made ready to cast-

Twiilrpsh! A rapid force bowled Lubbock over, and pinned him down on his side. "Wha-!" before he realized it, he was ensnared in some large net-like contraption. Encompassing his body were thin metallic lines webbed along several spikes which had embedded themselves deep into the ground.

Whrrrrr! The small tethers began to whir, as built-in motors reeled in their spokes of line, and contracted the net ever tighter. "Arrgh!" a wail of pain came from Lubbock, as the unyielding wire started cutting into his legs, arms, and shoulders.

Whrrr-zrzrzrz! This contracting net suddenly began to seize up, stopping right before the lines could lacerate Lubbock's hands and face.

Turning his head as much as his bindings could allow, Lubbock saw that a length of slack from his Imperial Arm had interwoven with the net's own wires, and got entangled as it was winched into one of the retracting motors, jamming the whole mechanism in the process.

"Lubbock!" out along the young man's periphery, Mine continued reaching out to him, her frantic motion had caused her to sink up to her shoulders. Before her, laying just above the surface, was the knotted end of Cross Tail's thread.

"Mine!" Lubbock cried out "Grab the wire! You'll need to pull yourself out!"

Mine pawed in front of her, hoping to get ahold of the line, but it had already sank. Now in a panic, she plunged her hand in, and tried snatching for it. The quicksand then rose to her neck, right beneath her chin.

Wwrrlrlrlrrkrkrk! The trio of red dots reappeared on the side of Mine's face, and both her and Lubbock looked up to see where exactly had the deadly indicator originated.

In close proximity, the triangular designation revealed a row of three red lines leading up to a shimmering haze hovering above the quicksand's opposite side.

Lubbock tried to straighten his head to better see the apparition, but wound up nicking his cheek by the net's razor thin wire. Mine on the other hand, had a full clear view, or at least a better perspective of what she couldn't really see.

The anomaly blurred the image of the swamp behind It, forming a distinct outline against the backdrop. It's shape was vaguely humanoid with two extremities serving as legs below It, two more limbs which were undeniably arms, hung on either side. And on top, there was unmistakably a head, where the tri-beam designator's emitted from a small mounted socket on the upper right portion of where the temple cranium should be.

Mine watched helplessly, as the three pointed laser guide scrolled up along her cheek, over her eyes, and rested upon the center of her forehead.

Krv-rt! A distinct protrusion erected itself from the blurry silhouette's perceived shoulder, and lined up its front end in tangent with the tri-point's mark.

Instincts screaming at what's about to happen, Mine expended the last of her struggling efforts to aim her weapon, only for the quicksand to engulf the last of her height, and she sank completely below the mud.

Wwrrlrlrkrkrk! With an irritated warble, the silhouette disengaged Its targeting device, and the corresponding shoulder mounted apparatus retracted and tucked back into its prone position.

"Mine!" Lubbock yelled after seeing his teammate disappear beneath the muck. The silhouette then diverted Its attention to the entrapped assassin, and slowly approached.

"Damn You!" Lubbock growled, his face bleeding from fresh cuts, as he fought to adjusted his view. His captor stood an arm's length away from him, one of the upper limbs reached into the main body, and revealed a clearly visible metal shaft.

Kr-shnk! The rod extended its length telescopically, and at the top end, a broad sickle shaped blade unfolded from the haft.

Lubbock fought against his confines, without caring about his clothes and portions of his skin getting diced.

The humanoid haze held Its weapon up high, ready to cleave the young man right down the center-

Bam! Bam! Bam! Najenda fired the Service Pistol as she dashed out of the grass, propelled by the thrusters on her pack. Several bullets struck point blank into the side of the Silhouette Pnk! Pnk! Pnk! The ricochets demonstrated that the apparition had mass to It, but It made no clear indication as to whether It was hurt or merely agitated, though the weapon It brandished receded into its compact form, and the death blow was cancelled.

Prrlrkrk! The Silhouette uttered a throaty growl, and turned to face Najenda as she threw the empty gun aside, and charged head-on, leaping forward at a close distance, before executing a furious swivel kick "You leave him alone, You Bastard!"

With her full weight pressed into it, Najenda's foot came into contact with the apparition's broad flank, and felt unyielding resistance from her foe who's body was much too dense for Its size.

Klkrkrkrk! The Silhouette raised one of Its limbs closest to the woman's leg, and snatched her ankle with a powerful grip. Then, with one effortless flick, the humanoid haze threw Najenda off her balance.

Najenda fell back on her rump, and had only enough time to put up her left arm to receive a retaliating kick from one the Silhouette's extremities. She was sent skidding backwards towards the embankment of the lake's shallows.

"Kugh!" Najenda's arm throbbed with pain, it felt like she was battered at with a mace. She then fought the sensation, to look up at the culprit. The haze Silhouette came towards her, stalking along in measured steps.

"What the Hell are You!" Najenda growled. She tried to stand, but her feet hampered by mud, and her arm was getting too numb to offer support or balancing leverage.

The Apparition stood over Its encumbered quarry, then It seemingly hunched over in a predatory crouch.

"It's been a long time, Najenda." It spoke with Esdeath's voice, in that cheerfully deadly tone reminiscent of the late General, as it uttered one of her last statements directed to Night Raid's leader "But, I'm afraid the game's over for all of you."

The Silhouette extended what seemed to be the blurred outline of a hand, and a pair of long protrusions easily recognizable as sharpened blades jutted out from an unseen sheath Phshick!

Najenda can only watch with a widened eye, as the bladed weapon lingered in midair, wound back, and swing straight towards her throat-

Phsszzzr! Loud pulsing discharge rang out, accompanied by a bolt of purple tracing energy rushing past the blurring haze and clipping It on the side.

Whaaarrgh! The apparition let out a feral roar of surprise and pain, as a splash of phosphorescent fluid spattered to the ground and some onto Najenda's thigh.

The immobile woman paid no attention to the glowing liquid staining her pants, as she scrabbled to get away. Instead, her eye kept trained on a much more daunting spectacle.

In a flurry of sparks and arcing statics of electricity, the Silhouette's perceived transparency began phasing away. Replaced by Something much more bizarre and intimidating.

It stood partially hunched, but well over 7 feet tall. Two legs supported it, with pair of arms hanging on shoulders, and a head rested on top of a savagely bulky torso. The humanoid likeness ended there, Its hide was a mesh of leathery skin and metallic armor constituting the majority of Its body. Clawed digits clutched at a smoking contusion seared on Its side, just above what appears to be Its hip. The wound oozed more of that phosphate green fluid which can only be considered as the Creature's blood.

What stood out most from the Thing's wildly strange appearance, was Its face. Sunken and dark hollows occupied the portion where Its eyes should be. Inside each perceived ocular cavity, held a dark lens to an inbuilt visor. All of it was metal save for a mane of fleshy dreadlocks hanging off the side and back of the head.

The lack of expression on that grim façade despite the obvious pain the Creature was seemingly in, caused Najenda to deduce It was wearing faceplate or protective mask of some sort.

That same gothic visage snapped around to look behind, searching for what exactly had assaulted It.

Standing several meters away, and completely covered in slick mud, was Mine holding her Plasma Rifle in a shooting position, the barrel still smoking from the recent shot.

The Genius Sniper was just as awed as her Commander, by what she was seeing clearly for the first time.

Fsshhh! The Plasma Pulse Rifle began to hiss and smoke, as mud began to seep into the gun's sopping wet power cell.

"Here! Catch!" Mine tossed the unstable weapon over towards the Creature's direction, just as Its shoulder mounted device honed in on the power cell's excessive heat, and fired Phsszzzt!-

Kaboom! The ruptured battery exploded with violent force. It's blast overtook the Creature, and blew It out across the lake, sending It into the deep end in a thunderous Splash!

Najenda laid flat, and shielded her eye during the explosion. A wave of mud and water drenched along her back and legs. When she looked back up, she could see Mine trail straight over to a still prone Lubbock.

The young man, still pinned beneath the net contraption, watched as Mine came into his peripheral view, then grinned with relief "You've managed to get yourself out…"

Mine held out her right arm, and started to uncoil a length of thread from around her wrist. "Couldn't have done it without Cross Tail." she let go of the lifeline, and reached out to touch the other wire which had ensnared her green haired Teammate. "Don't!" he warned "It works similar to my Imperial Arm. You could lose a finger, if you're not careful."

Drawing back her hand, Mine cautiously backed away. "Wait here." she said "I've got to take care of Something, first…" She then bent down to pick up the Pulse Rifle laying nearby.

With urgent pacing, Mine hurried back towards the embankment where Najenda now stood vigilant with her solid eye tracing every ripple along the surface.

"Any sign?" the sharpshooter asked. Her superior's frown didn't look encouraging "None." Najenda rescanned the area where the Creature took a plunge "There were air bubbles at first. But, It hasn't come up since." Mine used Pumpkin's visor, and took part in the search.

"It didn't look like It had aquatic traits." Mine surmised "Maybe It drowned?"

Najenda couldn't deny the possibility. Any living thing wouldn't last down below, without certain adaptations. Like some way of breathing. And, that's assuming this Thing even needs to breath at all.

"Perhaps." The older woman was stumped "But we have no way of knowing…"

"Then, let's not leaving anything to chance..." Mine hefted the Pulse Rifle, and worked pump action Grenade Launcher Ch-chk!

"Fine." Night Raid's leader conceded "Two shots only. Save the last, for when We really need it."

Mine nodded and took careful aim. Plunk! Ch-chk! Plunk!

Kwrrlssshh! Kwrrlssshh! Geysers erupted from below the point of contact with the water.

"Keep watch on from the shallows" Najenda ordered "I'm going to go help Lubbock."

Mine retrieved Pumpkin's case, and placed it down lengthwise. She then crouched behind cover, and cocked the remaining M40 grenade Ch-chk!

Back over with Lubbock, Najenda looked down and studied the wires enveloping her Subordinate. She then brought out a small pocket knife, and tried cutting a single line Snikt! The blade fell away from its handle, the steel was sliced neatly apart as if it were butter.

"Boss-" Lubbock started, but he silenced himself, once his Commander stiffly held up her hand. "Be quiet." she spoke, her staring eye panned all over the netting as she patiently analyzed every strand, braid, and tether.

"These lines are using their anchors as leverage, making them taught." Najenda felt around the spot where one of the spikes had shot beneath the grass and soil "If I can dig them out, one by one, then maybe I can free you."

"Those lines have sunk in really deep." Lubbock explained "You might not be able to get to them by hand."

With a sigh, Najenda went over to where she ditched her cybernetic arm. The prosthetic had been reduced to bits of twisted slag by the Creature's energy projectile, but it may still be of some use.

Najenda bent down, and picked up the longest piece of scrap with a pointed end, before returning to Lubbock. With steady precision, she began to scrape away at the ground. Skrit! Skrit! Skrit! The labor proved fruitless. There wasn't any indication she was getting close to barbed rod.

"The grass is too thick." grunted Night Raid's leader "Even in mud, the roots make it solid enough to withstand mediocre tools."

"There should be a shovel packed away with Our supplies, back in the crawler." Lubbock informed "You're gonna have to go and get it-"

"I'm not leaving You or Mine behind." Najenda snapped "Not with that Thing still out there. Mine may not have killed It, for all We know."

Over by the lakeside, Mine maintained vigilance, sighting the Pulse Rifle at every lapping current and ripple. Her finger never far from the Grenade Launcher's trigger, as she waited with a patience prevalent in her profession as an assassin. She has yet to bother with cleaning any of the mud off of her body, and continued to remain caked in so much muck. Vanity had to wait, given the situation.

Taking her scrap of metal in hand, Najenda stuck one end through the webbed mesh, and planted it between one of the tethers and Lubbock's body. "Hngh!" with a heave, she tried to leverage up a line, using the scrap as a fulcrum.

Shhnniiikt! The instant the weight shifted on the metal crux, the wire sheared away a lengthy portion, from center down to the pointed end, leaving it with a sharpened edge.

Najenda pulled back her metal piece, and examined the filed sliver with slight admiration and borderline aggravation. "The net is about as strong as your Imperial Arm." she remarked "Nothing has ever been able to severe Cross Tails, except for…!" Her eye drifted over to the Crocodile Alien's headless carcass lying in the distance of the shoreline.

"Stay here." Najenda instructed, the she stepped away from her Subordinate, and trotted over Amphibious Xenomorph's body.

Acid blood had oozed from the severed neck, where Mine had cut It with Pumpkin's blast. It burned a sizable hole in which water had pooled, but now it seemed to be losing potency after the Beast's death, just as Bishop had said it would.

With a sense of urgency, Night Raid's leader had to forego the savage resentment towards what this Monster did to Susanoo, as well as the amazement she had for Mine using Pumpkin to such devastating effect that not even Najenda could attain back when she wielded the Imperial Arm herself.

Using the pointed end for penetration, Najneda plunged the metal rod through the gaping wound above the shoulders Stick! After probing about for half a minute, she then retracted the piece, relieved to see that the acid still fizzled and hissed as it began to slowly dissolve the metal scrap Sszzt!

When Najenda returned to Lubbock brandishing an acid slathered scrap piece, the latter glared nervously "Eh, Boss?" The former steadied the corroded rod over the net's mesh lines "Stay still…" with a light flick, Najenda smeared the metal piece's dilapidated end onto the tight wiring Sszzt!

Twang! One of the lines snapped away from its tether, snagging back onto the next woven braid along its spoke.

"It's working!" the leader of Night Raid grinned, then proceeded to do the same to each wire snared around her Subordinate Twang! Twang! Twang!...

About a third of netting came loose, before the acid from the scrap piece lost its potency. But by then, there was enough slack in the net for Lubbock to come away free.

Taking Lubbock's hands into her own, Najenda pulled him out, and dragged him clear.

Falling to her knees in relief and exhaustion, Najenda set her Subordinate's hand aside, then looked over the many lacerations crisscrossing his body as he lay before her.

"The cuts don't look deep…" Najenda observed, as Lubbock reached over, and felt along his arms and legs. "I've got a tingling sensation all over." he then touched around his shoulder "And I think my back is starting to feel a little sore." His Commander worried "The painkillers are wearing off." She unslung her pack, and opened the compartment to find it empty.

"Shit, that's right." Najenda swore "We've used everything to treat your burns." The verdant haired young man didn't want pay any mind to his serious injuries, so he busied himself in reeling in Cross Tail's threads. When he couldn't tug Mine's lifeline free from entanglement with the net's jammed mechanism, he had to nip the braid off with the Imperial Arm's gloves, and will have to respool it sometime later. Lubbock then noticed his Commander was holding out the backpack expectantly "It's time We left this place." she insisted "We need to get you proper medical care soon."

Lubbock began to struggle to get up on his own strength, while protesting "I'll be okay, Boss. Really." But he knew better than his Superior, that his own body had reached its limits. Najenda paid him no heed, as she took Cross Tail's off his hands, and stuffed it in her pack. She then dipped low, and place his stomach on her shoulder. With a lugging heave, the group Commander toted her Subordinate up into a fireman's carry.

"I'm getting Us the Hell out of here." Najenda strained with each step taken under the extra weight "And I am not losing anymore of my own, today."

Mine silently brought up the rear, as the pitiful trio resumed their miserable journey back to the Daihotai Tractor.

The sparseness of the swamp underbrush informed the group that they were close. But, when Mine looked up past the trees, into the bright blue sky, and saw a trail of thick black smoke, she knew something was wrong.

"You see that!" Mine called out. In front, Najenda could see as well, her lips pursed with dreaded supposition when she realized smoke was coming from the same direction where the crawler was parked.

"Please, no…" Najenda muttered, as she and Mine picked up the pace, and cleared the last line of trees leading out of the marshland. Both of their fears were confirmed however, when they came upon what was left of the vehicle waiting for them.

The Daihotai Tractor was vandalized. Its engine compartment still billowing fresh smoke from a yawning hood cover. The machinery inside were melted and burned beyond recognition. In other parts of the crawler's metal body, sensors and instrumentations were similarly destroyed or damaged extensively. One of them, most notably, was the radio antenna. Even some of the tires had been reduced to gobs of burnt rubber on warped rims. Only the main cabin and the cargo storage seemed unmolested.

Hoping to save what she can, Mine popped open a hatch, and retrieved one of the emergency fire extinguishers. Then, after a quick glance at the instructions tag, she followed its procedure, and doused everything that sparked, crackled and smoldered.

Once she was absolutely sure there was no threat of a major fire, Najenda opened a back hatch, and set Lubbock down inside the cargo hold. She needed to unburden herself from him, but she wasn't about to leave him alone out in the open.

After placing her male Subordinate somewhere safe, the leader of Night Raid followed her female Subordinate towards the main cab door. "Watch yourself!" she warned, as the younger woman climbed up the steps, and rolled the hatch open.

Mine paused for a moment, to allow the lingering smoke waft out of the opening, before venturing inside.

With some difficulty, Najenda tried to ascend the steps with her one remaining arm. As soon as she had reached the open door, Mine was already waiting for her at the top. Her solemn expression wasn't very promising.

"It's all gone." Mine reported "The dash is fried, the controls are unresponsive, and the radio's dead as lead." She beckoned her Commander inside, and the two of them took up the front seats in the cab, to assess all the damage.

True to Mine's word, nothing appears workable with the Tractor main systems. Whatever hasn't been touched by flames, were left unresponsive due to lack of power and connection. When the main engines suffered anything catastrophic. Both the hydrogen fuel cells, and corresponding systems would automatically shut off to prevent explosion. Whatever the case, even with the fuel source and auxiliary power supplies still intact, the crawler won't be able to move on its own in its current state.

The trio could have asked for days, about what had happened here, but the scorched components of the ruined vehicle made it obvious.

"We were sabotaged." Mine concluded "That Sneaky Bastard must've done this, knowing full well it was Our only means of transportation."

"Now it all makes sense…" Najenda pinched the front if her brow in frustrated epiphany "The whole time we've been out there, this Thing had Us figured out all along. It knew exactly what to do, to keep us from getting out of this place alive. That's why We were left alone for the past hour. It was making sure We wouldn't have a means of escape or a way to call for help. Then, It could have picked Us off one at a time, at It's own leisure."

"Urgghh…" Lubbock groaned out loud, more of exhaustion than apprehension. Najenda stepped towards the back of the cabin, to attend him. "Mine, will you shut that door, please?" She called back to the front "And crack all the windows, while you're at it, so the Tractor can air itself out." She then reached for a box of more medicine to use.

"Are We staying here?" Mine inquired, and her Commander just waved her off "There's nowhere for Us to go. And I'm not leaving Us to the elements this time around."

Night Raid's leader undid Lubbock's bandages, and started applying more burn ointment. "We're at the end of Our rope on this one. We've done everything We could for the mission. So now, I want Hicks and Ripley to mop up this mess."

Mine opened the last of the windows, and joined the other two in the back. By then, she had noticed she was still encrusted with mud, so she brought out her sleepwear, and begun to change inside of a compartment.

"The others will come, soon." Mine spoke in assurance "I just hope We'll be left alone, until then…"

Predator Scout Ship, Unknown Location

Moored several feet above the ground of a clearing, a large vessel materializes into view, as its active camouflage from built-in cloaking technology were switched off by remote command.

A lone figure hobbles beneath the ship's hull, feeling along the oblong plating of super complex metal composites, until His claw tipped hand brushes against a touch activated panel.

With a few trace gesture along the panel's surface, a series of beeps sounded out, and a broad portion of the vessel's hull retracted open to allow access within.

Stepping through the porthole, the figure activated another panel inside the ship, and quickly shut the hatch behind him.

Now safe in the confines of his Scout Ship, the Predator removed his fractured Bio Mask, revealing folded mandibles which clenched and flexed amidst labored breathing. On the side of his face, blood trickled profusely from above his left eye, forcing him to keep it shut while he navigated the ship's interior with his other eye

After stepping into a small compartment holding an operating bench, the injured Yautja slipped a bulbous component off his armor, and set it on the table. Phrzzip! The object then automatically splayed open, revealing extended rows of small trays holding precision instruments and intricate gadgets.

The Predator reached into the medicomp, and rummaged around, before taking out a small rotary device. He then placed rotary at the center of the operating bench, where it spooled several curved metal flaps around its center, forming a small basin.

Next, the injured Yautja unhooked a small pouch from its hip clasp, and dumped its contents. A handful of pebbles and rocks, collected from outside, spilled into the bowl. He then reached back into the medicomp, and brought out a vial of blue viscous fluid, which he subsequently poured out all over the stones.

Suddenly, thermal ignitors at the center of the basin, sparked up and doused everything in flames Phsshh!

Whhlrrrk! The Predator initially recoiled from the sudden burst of blue fire. Then he set about rummaging through the medicomp again, as the flame died out leaving a small stack of smoke pluming upwards.

Once he retrieved a spatula tool from its tray, the Predator turned back over to the smoking basin. Inside was a large glob of a blue gel substance emitting small wisps of steam and smoke. Knowing what comes next, the wounded Yautja scooped up a portion of the gel with Its utensil, and after a very, very brief pause, smeared the molten blue substance across the large gash on his side Kzzssshh!

Whaaarrgh! Overwhelmed with white hot pain, the Predator let out a guttural roar which echoed through the hollow passages and chambers within the Scout Ship.

The agonized Yautja keeled over in excruciating pain, yet It refused to pull away the searing blue substance and utensil from Its wound, waiting only for the hissing of burning flesh to stop, before standing upright to inspect the abrasion.

Amidst the wisps of smoke, and the stench of charred flesh, where there was once an open lesion oozing glowing green blood, there was now a grotesque stretch of cauterized skin.

Breathing heavily, the Predator felt along Its side, making no reaction as Its clawed digits pricked and probed at the freshly made scar. The pharmaceuticals that were blended in with the blue paste had done its purpose in nullifying the residual pain.

Now, the Yautja can continue unimpeded, with addressing Its next problem.

Taking up the spatula once more, It then scooped up the remaining glob of blue paste. In anticipation to what's going to happen next, the Predator took paused for a full moment, before bringing the heated utensil up to Its head Kzzssshh!

WHAAARRGH! The primal roar of torment escape from the ship, and enveloped the surrounding area. Small birds and animals, and even Danger Beasts were sent scurrying from their dens and lairs, driven by instinct to flee from such a terrifying force.

Back inside the Scout Ship, the Predator stepped out of the compartment, and navigated the winding passage with one eye open, and the other with a new burn scar hanging above it remain closed.

It wasn't until reaching the ship's bridge, did the Yautja open Its left eye, and waited for Its sight to adjust. Once It did, the lone Predator approached a control console, and activated it with the swipe of a single clawed digit.

Zwwrrrvt! The ship's computer spun to life, as a hologram appeared above the console, and began to take shape.

Hovering in the center of the room, was an image of the planet where the ship is currently at berth. At a corner of one of the large continents, was a small red dot distinctly amongst a mass of lateral markings and symbols.

With a few more swipes at the console's inlets, the Predator expanded the hologram image, as it zoomed in on the dot to show a more detailed overlay of the land spanning a sizable portion of the continent, with the Scout Ship's location marking the center. From that point of reference, several other dots appeared along the map, each were ascribed with Yautja glyphs denoting their significance and relevance of progress.

If one were to ignore the constant influx of data incomprehensible to humans, and look instead to the detailed rendering of each marked location, one could see an assortment of landmarks rendered in hi-definition perceptibility.

Working the console again, the Predator looked up, and watched the image scroll along, panning over a long stretch of dark green swamp accompanied by a greenish blue lake.

Wwrrlrlrlrrkrkrk… Taking a step back from the controls, the lone Yautja held up Its Wrist Gauntlet, and unfolded the micro interface. After pressing several keys on the touch-pad, the gauntlet emitted a similar hologram image mirroring the to one projected by the computer console.

Bzzip! Bzzrp! Bzzrp! Bzzip! In a series of strange electronic blips, both otherworldly scenes sync together and relayed shared data to one another.

When the task was complete, a new marker appeared on either hologram, one which designated the place of the Yautja's most recent incursion which resulted in a botched hunting opportunity, and a sizable defeat at the hands of mere humans.

Prrlrkrk! The Predator growled in disgust, and busied Itself with the control console once again. There was no time to dwell on such a blemish to Its honor. Not when It may yet redeem Itself in a rather fashionable way. If the last battle had any fruit to bear, It was one of enlightenment.

The hologram on the main console zoomed out to regional scope, then scrolled along as the other markers were highlighted and isolated into split imagery.

One was a ramshackle of what had once been a human made installation. Another was a blackened hole in the ground a fair distance from the human ruin.

The more common waypoints were skipped over. They were mere human settlements of varying population and quality of living standards, with the smaller ones comprised of primitive construction, such as houses and huts cobbled together by lumber, and roofed by woven thatch. The larger settlements, in contrast, boasted the more innovative composition of brick and mortar.

Other marked locations, though not as common as the run-of-the-mill human villages and cities, were crude yet robust fortresses and castles serving as military outposts and bases for the indigenous peoples' armed forces. A sparse number of these installations had been marked to represent the Predator's certain interests.

But, all paled in comparison to the single largest marker placed at the center of the continent. Easily four times the size of the next largest community, this perceived city-state comprised of an encirclement of high standing walls of thick stone, behind the barrier were broad white streets lined with tall buildings of modern aesthetics, and finally in the middle was an elegant palace possessing the greatest architectural design of seamless marble, stained glass windows, and even girded steel. Even from an alien standpoint, it was easy to determine that superfluous establishment held grand importance as the residence of the region's ruling body.

With the adequate amount of markers highlighted, the Predator turned back to Its Wrist Gauntlet, and operated the touch-pad once more Bzzip! Bzzip!

The micro display on the gauntlet lit up with red pixilated glyphs, as it resynced with the ship's computer. This time though, It was the Wrist Gauntlet that was pulling information from the computer's data banks.

Old data meshed and combined the updated information, then sifted and sorted thoroughly as both systems intermingled.

Bzzrp! Bzzrp! Bzzip! The process was complete, and the Yautja brought up a hologram of subjects It wanted to review.

Their image hovered over the console. Humans whom the Predator had recently encountered up close, and those whom It had only observed from a distance. Their projected visage had been segregated into three different groups.

The first group comprised of six individuals. They were the first ones encountered while infiltrating the Alien Hive. Their intrusion provided a coincidental opportunity for the Yautja to slip into the Hive undetected even from the Serpents themselves. Yet It was afforded little time, to acquire what the Predator had sought. When battle erupted between the Humans and Aliens, the collateral destruction proved to hazardous to remain in the vicinity, forcing the Predator to retreat with only two prizes in tow.

The Yautja turned away from the holograms, and walked over to a sealed compartment towards one side of the bridge. Sitting in special containment pods behind the compartment viewport, were the same two Alien eggs the Predator had pillaged from the Hive.

Both depleted eggs had long been opened, the parasites from within jettisoned and expunged from the ship, into the wild, and left to infect the local fauna, just as the Yautja had planned.

The Predator took a brief gander at the hollow ovoid husks. It was a great personal risk, to procure these embryos. As one of such a station and age as his, he wouldn't have been ready to confront an entire Alien swarm. Even when the Human incursion laid waste to Hive, the possibility still remains if he where to be killed, or worse, captured and impregnated.

Bzzrp! At the brush of a touch-activated switch, the quarantine holding burst into flame Phsssshhh! The fire scorched everything within the chamber, including the pair of Alien eggs, reducing them to shriveled blackened mush. The fire then intensified, becoming white hot and burning bright blue Phsszzzt!

The purging inferno suddenly extinguished itself, leaving nothing but wisps of smoke. The plasma rinse was complete. Anything left inside the compartment had been atomized, and then vented out of the ship.

Satisfied that the task is finished, the lone Yautja went back to the hologram.

The first group were enlarged, to display their image in greater detail. After inputting several commands into the console, the Predator then gleaned the many symbols and glyphs encircling each human image, while they underwent further analysis from the computer.

As soon as the enough data had been compiled into the system, and processed, the holographic projections then highlighted certain items and objects either on or near each individual of the group.

The Predator closely examined the shape and form of everything highlighted in red. It then deduced what It had already suspected of the nature of these devices. They were weapons, powerful ones that defy the understanding of even those of his kind.

The other two groups of images were given the same forensic treatment, which produced more red highlights indicating the abnormal equipment they carried.

Each item studied, entailed drastic differences from one another in either fabrication or function, but according to what the computer had analyzed about all of them, they bore the same energy signature, indicating shared properties within the extent of their molecular composition.

Klrk-lrk-lrk-lrk! For once, the Predator was pleased about a certain aspect of today's turnout. The loss of good prey from the two exotic Alien strains would've been a major setback, but the very humans He had attacked for molesting his hunt, had fortuitously provided a greater prospect than what was intended.

These Imperial Arms, as they are called by the human in their translated language, demonstrated powers and abilities far beyond the conventions of modern human technology. Namely those of the indigenous population whose development varies disproportionately from lower to higher tiers.

Only the aforementioned ruin held the highest pinnacle of human advancement, yet by the Yautja's own observation, held no affiliation to any civilization on this backwater of a planet. The Predator had long since figured the now defunct installation belonged to the people of Earth, and was brought here by means of which he was not going to bother discerning. All of that was beneath his notice and didn't matter, same for the accompanying Aliens as well, now that a greater sort of prey has presented itself.

Nothing else matters, not the Aliens, nor the aboriginal humans and their ship in high orbit. The Predator will hunt all who possess Imperial Arms, and add to his own prowess and skill by taking such trophies for himself. Honor and prestige will be his for the taking, enough to rise above his station, and perhaps legitimize the starting of his own clan.

In time, all will hail the Renegade for his accomplishments and not his acts of recklessness.

Jungle Plateau, East of the Empire

The overbearing vegetation of jungle overgrowth trembled and quake from the loud overture of heavy strums of a guitar's strings.

The harmonics grew more into an ensemble, as more instruments played along in procession.

Then, right as the elevating tune broke into a rousing crescendo, the Jordens' Daihotai Tractor tore through the brush.

The crawler wound along the dense foliage, tearing down any shrubbery in its path, and only deviating when having to maneuver around larger trees.

From the vehicle's loudspeakers, the song's vocals began to sound out [Welcome to the Jungle! We've got Fun n' Games!-]

Inside the cab, Akame was concentrating on steering the Tractor, trying to stick to the convoluted trail which led ever closer towards the coordinates' destination. Beside her, were Tatsumi and Leone fumbling with the audio track as they tried to cut the music's high volume.

"Just shut it off, You Two!" Chelsea had her ears covered, to muffled the loud tunes "How hard can it be?!"

"We're trying!" Leone barked back, as she began forcing her fingers into the music disc socket, in an effort to forcibly yank out the track.

Tatsumi was systematically jabbing every single switch and button on the control console, hoping one would turn off the noise. Finally, after pressing a large button on the top left corner of the board, the hard jamming ruckus fell to silence.

"Whew!" Leone fell back in her seat, pleased with the sudden quiet "That's better." Chelsea didn't share the sentiment "This mission was supposed to be conducted away from prying eyes!" she then swatted the blonde against her arm "What'll We do, if this whole region hears that racket?!"

Leone balled her fist, and made ready to slug back at her Teammate. But, Tatsumi had reached behind, and grabbed each young woman's hand "Easy, the both of you! Please don't fight."

The two women glared at the one man in their group, then complied and withdrew back into their chairs.

"Listen, I get that we're all antsy for being on the road for so long." Tatsumi knew Chelsea or Leone wouldn't normally instigate a scuffle. They've all been cooped up inside this cabin for too long, even he can feel himself approaching his limit "But, let's try to keep it together for a while longer, Okay? Please?"

"Hey Everybody!" Akame called out excitedly, as she slowed the crawler to a halt, and pointed out ahead of the windshield "Look!"

Tatsumi leaned over the dashboard in front of him, Chelsea crowded behind and looked over his shoulder, and Leone stood up over the center console and used it to maintain her bearings.

There was no confusion at what they're seeing. They've each recalled Newt's Spectator image vividly from that day. One of Its gnarled prongs loomed over the canopy, the other prong was indiscernible under the veil of tropical green.

The group eyed the lopsided spire, through glass of the Tractor's front view. Doubt mingled within each person's thoughts of whether they were really looking at a genuine object. That was how unnatural it seemed.

Tatsumi indicated where the prong stemmed down back into the thick of trees "The main body should lie that way."

Akame nodded, and put the Jordens' Tractor back into gear, before rolling it towards a gap in the treeline ahead.

As the crawler passed through the row of trees, the landscape suddenly gave way to that familiar dull grey gravel if extra planetary soil.

"Whoa…" Tatsumi murmured under his breath.

Like the Hadley Colony, the ground was drastically altered from the luscious green of the jungle mingling with the barren wind-blasted rocks of LV-426.

And at the center, was Something far more alien than the terrain It rested on.

"Just so We're not mistaking This for something else…" Leone voiced her concern, while turning to Akame expectantly. The red eyed assassin checked and double-checked the GPS beside the tractor controls, for confirmation.

"It's sitting right on top of the coordinates." Akame affirmatively assured. She then resumed staring out at the stone-like exterior of the massive, ancient vessel.

Chelsea was the one who blurted out what her teammates were thinking but hesitant to say aloud.

"We've found the Derelict."

Chapter 15: End

Sorry for such a long wait on this chapter. It have been my most difficult one to write so far, because I kept feeling so dissatisfied with writing one draft after another and sensing something was missing. And I couldn't bear the thought of the readers having to do without any if the relevant details no matter how small or trivial, especially with the debut of the Renegade Predator. To those are unfamiliar, the Renegade was created from the old Kenner toyline and was eventually revamped and expanded upon by NECA. If there are any more questions about this Predator, I would happily explain everything throughout PM.

Thank you for reading. Again, sorry about the long wait. You can help expedite my writing process by leaving any kind of review. Believe me, your feedback makes a ton of difference in my writing speed, not the direction the story is going as that has already been determined, and is just a matter of transcribing into the written word. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, The search comes to an end. Now, once more, fate rears Its ugly head, and the stakes grow ever higher as the next great confrontation lurks close.