((A/N: well, here's my shot at a Predator-based fanfic. It'll get more xenomorphs later on, I promise ;) ))

Intro.

Big strides moved the Yautja through the hospital. Corpses littered the floor and blood covered the ceiling. He didn't care. Both were just leading to his prey. Once he killed that, he would have the biggest trophy; the head of a true abomination. His nephew had started this mess, and he was going to clean up after him. It wasn't like his nephew could do that himself.

He shook his head, letting out a low growl. Even if this wasn't an abomination, or a true challenge, he'd still be here to avenge his nephew. The lad had been young, too young as it turned out. He had only just gotten off his own mission to prove himself a man when he had been stationed on the ship in which he died. But then again, it was supposed to have been a routine mission.

A small sound made Yautja whip his head around. A survivor? Surely, the abomination wouldn't have left anyone alive... He moved towards the sound, cautious as any hunter, and entered a side room. Human women with large bellies were lying on several beds, their bellies ripped open from the inside. The signs were obvious. He would have to be on the look-out for even more xenomorphs now.

Then he heard the sound again. It was a small sound, that sounded oddly happy. He slowly moved towards it. It wasn't a xenomorph. Those sounded differently. As he switched through his visors, he realised that it had to be one of those small humans. A child, he believed. He stepped around the final bed in the room, and there it was.

It was mostly covered by something, his visor told him, but it was clearly alive, judging by how the cloth moved, as if tiny feet and hands were kicking it. He bend down and lifted the cloth, revealing the soft pink flesh of the small human beneath. Before he could pull his hand away though, it was gripped by two tiny hands.

Before his disbelieving eyes, the baby pulled his hand towards its mouth and stuck a finger inside. The gum of the alien mouth felt odd against the Yautja's skin. How this little creature had managed to survive despite the xenomorphs walking around was beyond him, but he had to admit, the creature had something endearing about it.

It looked at him with bright blue eyes, as if it knew something about him that he couldn't grasp himself. For a moment, the mouth left his finger and the baby cooed again, it's entire face lighting up as it smiled up at him. The Yautja grinned a little, though only other Yautja would recognize it as a grin. This little being wasn't afraid of him. And it had somehow survived all that had happened around it.

With his free hand, he lifted the young pink thing. It seemed to turn in his arm, moving itself closer towards his chest as he held it. Head tilted to the side, he regarded the action. Cold. The creature seemed cold. He picked up the cloth he had pulled away earlier and wrapped it around the thing. The kicking the creature did quieted down then, and its body heat slowly rose.

Such fragile beings these creatures were. Some were fun to hunt. They made so many mistakes and thought they did so well. It was what made humans the perfect prey for trainees, even though the honour to be received from the kill was low. But there was no honour in killing this little thing. And deep down inside, the Yautja realised that even if he did want to, he might not be able to. It had already shown it had courage. And survival instinct.

Reaching a decision, he let out a low growl again and left the room, the bundle still in his arms. He followed the tracks he could find. Most xenomorphs were dead by now, but he would avoid the rest if he could. He only had one prey in mind. The baby didn't make a sound, but those piercing blue eyes still regarded him, tiny hands gripping the cloth tightly.

As he got higher and higher, he started to miss his canon. His visors and sensors detected xenomorphs all over the place. With one hand only, his skills were limited. His experience however, made that he was still efficient enough to take care of them. Holding the bundle protectively against him with one arm, he took out his lance with the other, making his way up the building, towards the roof, where his prey would wait.

One floor below the roof, he placed the bundle down. He could not allow himself to only use one arm in the fight that was to come. As the baby cooed at him again, he quickly put his finger on its mouth, the bundle quietening immediately. He grinned again. Brave and intelligent. He didn't quite know what he wanted with it, but he felt he wanted to ensure it's survival, to see what creature it would become as it grew. He turned from the bundle and jumped up, bursting through the roof.

--

The fight didn't last as long as he had hoped, though his opponent was worthy. The puncture wound in his chest proved that. However, he had been able to avoid the damage to be lethal. He pulled back his wrist knives quickly, the acid damaging the blades. A low whistling sound pulled his attention to the sky. Aircrafts of human manufacture. Not quiet, nor efficient. As his visor zoomed in, he could tell what they were planning.

He quickly jumped down the hole and grabbed the bundle. He jumped back up, grabbing the tail of his prey in his free hand and raced for the edge of the rooftop. He ran, harder and faster than he ever had. Jumping off the roof, he continued his sprint. As he reached the edge of town, the bomb connected with the ground. He heard the explosion before he felt it. It was a deafening sound.

Moments later, the shockwave hit him. He flew forward, clasping the bundle against his chest. Crashlanding, he rolled instinctively, keeping his body undamaged, apart from the damage it had already sustained. It left him dazed though. He shook his head roughly, trying to get himself back into focus. He looked at the bundle in his arms, feeling an odd sense of relief as he realised it was still alive.

But now that he had escaped, with his trophy and this pink thing... What was he to do with it?

--

The Yautja sat in front of his ship. He had called it in hours ago, but he had yet to board. His chest was tended to and had healed. On his lap, gleefully looking up at him, was a baby. A human baby. He didn't understand why he felt he had to protect it, or why those noises it made pulled his face into a smile without his permission. He frowned and picked the thing up.

He held it close to his face, regarding it. What was he to do with this thing? Tiny hands placed themselves on his helmet and he quickly put more distance between his head and the baby. As a result, the baby pulled an unhappy face. It's tiny lips trembled. Then there was noise. Lots of it.

The Yautja blinked in shock. How could such a small thing make that much noise? Water streamed down the babies cheeks. He believed the humans called that crying. He tried covering its mouth with a hand, but it didn't quite seem to like that either. Frustrated, he got up and started pacing, carrying the baby in one arm again. Now once again close to the warm body, the crying diminished.

Odd creature. He looked down at it as it grew quiet again. Its mouth opened widely, showing the gum and tongue inside it's mouth before closing. Little fists rubbed into its eyes before the eyes closed. It wasn't long before the Yautja realised that the child had gone to sleep, as it stopped moving around so much. Its vitals were fine though.

--

Cloaked, the Yautja stepped up to one of the houses. It had taken him several hours to get to this city, the one near his location having been whipped out after all. He detected several humans in this house, one of which being similar to the still sleeping bundle in his arms. These creatures would know how to care for it.

He uncloaked himself and the bundle and gently placed the bundle on the doorstep. It awoke then. The blue eyes met his. They were big. Not with fear, he could tell, but with something else. He reached down and gently stroked the things cheek with a finger.

"I will return for you," he promised, though to anyone listening, it just sounded like a series of clicks and growls.

"What was that?" he heard from inside the house. He cloaked himself quickly. The baby looked perplexed for a moment. Then it opened it's mouth again and started to wail. The Yautja stepped back, but froze as the door opened.

"It's a baby!" the man in the doorway said. Humans had a knack for stating the obvious. They weren't very bright. As he looked around, he looked right through the Yautja. Then he bend down and picked up the bundle. He held it to its chest and lightly bounced it up and down.

For a moment, the Yautja felt like stepping in and snatching the child back, but then a female human joined the male and took the child from him, stroking the creatures cheek where the Yautja had touched it moments ago. Only then did the baby start to quieten down a little, but as it realised it wasn't the same being that had done so moments before, the lungs kicked back into action.

"Shhhhh," the woman hissed at it, though in a calming tone. The Yautja's eyes narrowed, but then they stepped into the house and closed the door. He felt a sense of loss and remained standing where he was for several minutes, listening to the wails of the creature he had saved.

Snapping himself out of it, he turned around and marched back the way he came. He promised he'd return. He would have to anyway, as these humans still had his gun. He still needed to retrieve that. It was as good an excuse as any, but he couldn't deny the fact that he wanted to see this creature again.