"What do you see?"

Hannah didn't look away from the horizon to look at her companion, instead her gaze remained transfixed on the greens and oranges of the sunset. Sometimes she seriously regretted that Jar-hidda could not see the colors she did.

"I was just thinking," she murmured, "about Brody's son. He'll live the rest of his life not knowing how his father died. Did you kill him?" she glanced at Jar-hidda, "did the kainde amedha? Another human? Did he die in the implosion? He'll never know."

Her eyes looked to the sun again, resting her chin on her arm. Jar-hidda did not respond to her, and she turned her gaze to her unusually quiet companion, and found him staring at her solemnly, his mandibles still.

The humans had been given some land on the outskirts of the main city of Buesi'ute, before they even set up houses, they buried Brody. Hannah had attended, Jar-hidda had not, seemingly for the same turmoil of emotions he was feeling now.

She smiled. She didn't blame him. She never did. She was only hoping that Brody's son would live a life very different than what she had.

But it was apparent a change of subject was in order.

"What did yautja have before they discovered suns?"

Jar-hidda rattled and looked from her to the space ahead of him.

"Before we knew about suns? I have no idea, just periods of warmth and cold that dictated days I suppose. That was a very long time ago though."

Hannah smirked, "yeah, but isn't it that when females die, they get the privilege of becoming suns? What the hell did they believe before suns existed?"

Jar-hidda shifted and sat on the earth beside Hannah, rumbling, "you're asking a question about what females thought millions of years ago Hannah, I'm sure they'd rather no one remember what the used to think."

Hannah chuckled, "I supposed not, it would invalidate the purity of their preachings."

Jar-hidda huffed in amusement, "don't get too cocky, Hannah."

Hannah shook her head, shifting back and resting on her hand.

Jar-hidda stared at her again in silence for a bit, and she glanced at him, grinning, "what?"

"How does it feel?" he asked, nodding his head towards her.

Hannah shifted and lifted her left hand before her. From her shoulder to the tips of her fingers were entirely mechanical. It was sleek and sharp in typical yautjan design, but the female who had designed it did try to keep the roundness of her other human arm. It had built-in gauntlet functions and wrist-blades among other features, though Hannah was most glad for the balance it had returned to her. Though in whatever stroke of genius, the architect decided to give the fingers claws, which Hannah had very strong feelings about.

"Heavy," she responded, "and where the wires attach tickle," she lifted her right hand and touched a small flat button on the back of her neck. She had a series of these that went down her spine, and she could only guess as to how they worked, only knowing that they allowed for her to move the arm as if it were a natural part of her body.

"You'll get used to it."

"I know I will," Hannah scoffed, smacking the back of her hand against Jar-hidda's arm, "I'm just complaining to complain."

Jar-hidda huffed, pushing her shoulder so that she nearly fell over, and stood to his feet, "come on, I came to retrieve you for the ceremony, not to listen to you gripe."

"Is the ceremony necessary?" Hannah groaned as she stood up.

"Everything is ceremony," Jar-hidda answered. She caught up to his side.

"I hope it doesn't last long."

"You and I are something of celebrities, Hannah," Jar-hidda laughed and she frowned, "it will likely last days."

"Maybe you'll be demanded to be bred," Hannah teased.

"Maybe you will," Jar-hidda teased back, "and didn't you promise to not bring up females again with me?"

Hannah huffed, smiling, "you have no proof, it didn't happen."

"Oh no, I distinctly recall you trading teasing me with females and Fireblood for my consciousness."

Hannah grinned and shook her head, "I have no memories of this."

"You're not that old," Jar-hidda protested playfully, making a grab for her arm. Hannah danced out of his reach and took off running down the way. Jar-hidda ran after her. Her escape took the two of them through the little human village that had been set up for the survivors, and she caught a smile from Fred as she ran past.

Jar-hidda ended up catching up to her just outside of the doorway to a home. She let herself get caught, feeling his arms wrap around her and lift her from the ground as his tusks tickled at her neck.

She kicked her legs and laughed, gripping onto his arms as he took her inside and set her down.

"Watch out for the claws," he muttered casually, rubbing his arm where she had drawn blood.

"Sorry," she winced, looking at her hand and shaking her head. She didn't have any feeling in it, though sometimes she swore she could. It came with a whole slew of things she would have to relearn and adjust to.

The two of them began to get dressed in their armor and weapons. Why they needed these for a ceremony Hannah didn't know, but she guessed that ceremonial clothing was reserved for females. Armor and weapons were as formal as the two of them would ever get.

She was ready before he was, as usual, watching him dawn his armor and weapons with words of respect and prayers. She shook her head at his reverence but stayed silent. Despite everything he still worshipped, he just worshipped a little differently now. Her gaze wandered from him to the trophy room, bigger than the one they had on the Kut'kuni, and most of his trophies had been relocated to here, even the skull of his trophy baiun had been taken from where he had left it on his sanctuary planet and put on a wall nearly by itself.

This place, their abode, had been given to them in preparation of them becoming sain'ja, and would be theirs until their final hunt. But Hannah did not expect they would use it very much.

"You ready?"

Hannah lifted her gaze from the human skulls to her companion and smiled, "always."

Jar-hidda grinned and put his mask on, Hannah followed suit and the two of them left the house and moved down the road. They could hear the thunder of the gathered yautja before they saw Bhu'ja-zhu-ju'dha. He bowed his head to them in silence, then backed away and turned to lead them to the beginning of the ceremony: the start of an empty path, flanked on either side by other sain'ja, tapping their spears in rhythm, accenting the beat of drums, and other percussion instruments, filling the air with a heartbeat and hissing metallic sounds.

Bhu'ja-zhu-ju'dha walked ahead of them and the two followed a few steps behind. Hannah tried not to look to either side of her, her muscles tense and ready for action.

She felt a soft nudge against her arm and looked to Jar-hidda with as much subtlety as she could muster. He didn't look at her, but she relaxed slightly.

The old arbiter stopped and kneeled before Dekna-tuja, slamming his fist to his chest. She gave a simple nod and tapped her fingers against her chair. He bowed his head and stood, taking his place beside Al'nagara who stepped up to meet the two of them. Hannah and Jar-hidda kneeled and bowed their heads, slamming their fists to their chest, and immediately the noise stopped.

"With your permission, honored high-eldress, I, Al'nagara, clan leader, wish to acknowledge the achievement of these youngbloods and their triumph over the kainde amedha and blood them into your clan as sain'ja of the Guan-mi."

There was a stifled chuckle and Hannah pursed her lips. The last thing she had expected from the eldress was a laugh.

"Quite young, your youngbloods," the eldress chimed in amusement.

Al-nagara clicked in confirmation and rattled in uncertainty, "the title remains regardless of seasons High Eldress."

"I know," she clicked in amusement, "this all just seems ridiculous. Proceed."

"Thank you High Eldress," Al'nagara slammed his fist to his chest, obviously more comfortable with getting things back on track than bantering with the eldress.

The clan leader turned to the two of them, still kneeling.

"Jar-hidda and Numyakuo'ide, though not an official chiva, the two of you successfully hunted kainde amedha and so are being recognized for your honor. You have taken your first steps on your path to glory, and today we honor you and recognize you as sain'ja."

He turned and was approached by a gkin gu's're h-de, Hannah recognized Kantra, carrying in her hands a cup of some black material. Al'nagara accepted it from her with a bow of his head, then turned to the two of them again.

"Under normal circumstances, you would have already marked yourselves with the blood of your first kill during your trial. But your victory was not under normal circumstances, so we have taken from our vault, our treasured share of blood saved from the kainde amedha baiun slain on the hunt that brought Bhu'ja-zhu-ju'dha his honor as arbiter."

Hannah glanced over at the old yautja, unable to shake the feeling that he had known this would be the outcome from the start, when he first met her on Chul-yaun's atoll. That same feeling she had when he had first spoken to her about there being more than one path.

Her attention was drawn back to the ceremony as Al'nagara moved to stand before Jar-hidda and bid him to stand. Her companion got to his feet, and with a click from Al'nagara, moved his hand beneath his pauldron and slid the mesh links over his shoulder, exposing the right side of his chest.

The clan chief took from the cup a black pen of sorts, and began to draw on Jar-hidda's chest. The hiss of acid lasted only a couple of seconds, and three jagged lines, vaguely resembling flames, were permanently etched into his skin.

"With this mark you are blooded into the Guan-mi clan, and you may choose your name as a warrior."

"Jar-hidda," it was an easy choice, it was already the name he had chosen for himself and had been known by for years.

Hannah nodded once to herself, as she expected no less from her companion, resisting the urge to wrinkle her nose at the smell of burnt yautja flesh.

Al'nagara turned and stepped before her, and she followed the same movements of standing up and moving her mesh down. With it close now, she could see that the cup was made of kainde amedha chitin, and the pen was the claw of one. She grit her teeth against the burn of the acid, and the urge to wrinkle her nose at the smell of her own flesh burning. She looked down as the three lines were carved into her skin, jagged waves of heat that joined at the base.

"With this mark you are blooded into the Guan-mi clan, and you may choose your name as a warrior."

Hannah had thought about this, the name 'Numyakuo'ide' had been given to her, and not even by Jar-hidda. She still remembered his nickname for her back on earth, 'Cut'nry Nicul,' but as an individual she didn't feel like Fearsome Captor was very descriptive of herself, nor something that she wanted to be known as for the rest of her life. And 'Hannah'? It was a human name, given to her by human parents, her father, but more importantly her mother. It meant 'grace,' and now in her new life, it seemed to have the same significance that the nickname 'Jolly' had between her and Jar-hidda. It was a personal name between the two of them, and she didn't want other people calling her it anymore.

She had mulled over others, 'Noreide' for her fighting style of piercing holes in her enemies both with arrows and with her combistick, 'Kalei'pyode'a' for the irony, and the joy of forcing people to call her a young woman. 'Hulij-Bpe Tetch-na' was one of her favorites so far, imagining youngbloods murmuring to each other about that one crazy bitch of a human who did things they could only imagine in their short century-long lives.

In the end, with the limited time she had, she had finally settled on one.

"Sa'gok Oiu-zil."

The Black Path. It was something that her and Jar-hidda shared, the one color that humans and yautja could both understand. Though she would walk by Jar-hidda's side until the time of her Final Hunt, she walked blindly, spitefully refusing to see any path before her. That was who she would be: yautja, but not.

She could tell by Jar-hidda's side-ways glance as she moved her mesh back up, it was not something he was expecting her to do, and she smirked at him.

"Jar-hidda and Sa'gok Oiu-zil," Al'nagara declared, passing the cup back to Kantra, "blooded warriors, sain'ja of the Guan-mi clan, may you bring honor to yourselves, and to us all."

The resounding tapping of spears and roars filled the air. Hannah looked to Jar-hidda and grinned. She would tease him about all of this later, once they could hear each other. The two of them respectfully backed away from chief and eldress, and turned to face their new clan. Jar-hidda struck the air with his fist and roared, Hannah threw her voice into the chorus as well.

The ritual done, the noise became chaotic with cheers and yells of celebration, uncoordinated tapping of spears. A warm hand caused Hannah's shoulder to sink and she looked over to Bhu'ja-zhu-ju'dha. The arbiter swung before the two of them, pounding his chest and bowing his head. Hannah and Jar-hidda's fists moved from the air to their chests. The elder yautja then stepped forward, clicking in praise.

"I imagine many will want to take up your time, legendary figures that you are, now blooded into our clan, but first, I have a gift for you two, if you will allow me a moment."

"Of course," Jar-hidda replied, Hannah barely able to hear him even with his raised voice. Bhu'ja-zhu-ju'dha nodded, tapped his gauntlet, and then turned. A moment later, over the canopy of trees, a ship flew up into view. Its landing forced the encroaching yautja mob to part. The side of the ship opened and the ramp extended, inviting the two of them in.

Hannah's wide eyes went from the ship to Jar-hidda to Bhu'ja-zhu-ju'dha. It was not the Kut'kuni. The old familiar ship had been set down behind their home, and was declared by several female mechanics that it would be inoperable from that day forward. There was no way to fix it.

Hannah could see in Jar-hidda, the same surprise as hers.

"It is time to let the memory of your father rest, Jar-hidda," the older yautja said calmly, "this ship is yours, a gift from your clan. Something…. A little more up to date," he grinned, "though my mate made sure it was still familiar."

The elder beckoned them with a sweeping motion of his arm, and Hannah looked to Jar-hidda and grinned. The two of them took off running simultaneously towards the ship, slipping into the Ner'uda and already feeling the difference in space. Hannah spun in place to look at the walls, clean cut symbols, no wear, with a sharp scent. She raced Jar-hidda to the cockpit and clapped her hands on the back of a chair, one of two.

"My own seat!" she exclaimed, grinning slyly at Jar-hidda.

"That doesn't mean you get to drive," he countered, pointing at her while slipping into his. He tapped the arms to the chair, bringing up the controls. The images were a crisp bright red as he breezed through them. Hannah slid her eyes across the large space, mouth open in rapture, the clamor of the crowd all but forgotten.

"Well," her companion's voice brought her attention to him again. He clicked, tapping his claws impatiently against the arm of his chair, it was a facade, "I don't exactly feel like going back out there to be destroyed by adoring fans."

Hannah grinned deviously, planting herself firmly in her chair, "we do still have an r'ka hunt to finish."

Jar-hidda grinned and tapped a button on his chair. The cacophony of the clan was suddenly silent, only the soft sound of the engine as it spun faster, and the sounds of Jar-hidda's claws tapping in coordinates. Hannah almost gleefully pushed away the thoughts of so many disappointed yautja being left behind as the ship lifted and cut through the atmosphere, sliding through the void like a knife in the darkness.

Hannah turned to look at Jar-hidda, warmth filling her as she watched him work the ship, feeling the familiarity take away the weight of everything else. The final bits of gravity shed with the knowledge that the two of them would be as they are, closer now than she would have ever imagined they would be, with a home they could return to, and a clan that accepted them as they were. Two very flawed individuals, hand in hand on a broken path.

"You're staring," Jar-hidda huffed, turning to look at her, "what?"

Hannah smiled, this crazy thing between her and him, that still gave her some anxiety, would still need to have some kinks worked out. But that was later, they had time.

"What do you think you're going to call this one?"

Jar-hidda clicked in thought, looking around the ship, "I think I'll call it, Gka-de Ciujim."

The Trickster's Dance. Hannah shook her head with a smile. It seemed there would be nothing she could do that would fully change Jar-hidda's pious ways, or his belief in fate and destiny. But ultimately, that made her happy. Her fear that he would change completely for her eased. In the end, despite the new path he walked, he was still Jar-hidda.

"What? You got something better?"

"No," Hannah scrunched her nose with a smile, "so long as we've got places to go and things to hunt and I've got you with me while we do all that? I don't care what we call the ship."

Jar-hidda turned his golden gaze towards her, and she didn't need to see heat to feel him. His claw touched a button, space itself seemed to part before them, the ship hummed, she touched her hand to his, and they were off.

Just two old souls travelling down their own path, wherever it led.

Thank you all so much for being with me through this trilogy nearly five years in the making. Thank you for your patience, your kind words, your sympathy through my difficult times and your constructive criticisms that helped me better the journey we've been on.

As only a few of you know, I did try to get in touch with 20th Century Fox to see if there was a process to go through to try to get published through Dark Horse, the search led me to contact Steve Perry himself, who advised me that the best chance I had at turning The Broken Path trilogy into something more than fanfiction on the internet, I had to be an established author first. Now with Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, that may have changed; it may be harder, it may be easier, I'm not sure, but I had resolved after my conversation with Mr. Perry that once I finished the Broken Path Trilogy, I was going to work on my original stories, establish myself as an author.

I had mentioned to some that I would be doing a side story, Scars, that was a chronology of Jar-hidda's past. I still plan on doing this, taking breaks with my writing to post that here for you all, but updates may be sporadic, I apologize beforehand.

That does also mean I won't be posting things here regularly, and possibly things unrelated to Predator and/or Aliens, as I have had a yearning to write some other stories set in other mediums. If they continue to be your cup of tea, then I hope you enjoy them, if you're only here for AvP, that's fine too. I still have several stories planned for AvP, and will get back around to them eventually. But for now, I will be rather quiet on this front. Once I get a website set up for myself where I can post my works online, I will link it here for you to follow if you wish.

Thank you all again, so much, for everything these past several years, and may I see you all again in the future, on our own paths.