Nadia and Roxy continued sprinting toward the pods not daring to look back. They could hear the hybrid and the pirates were all still struggling. Meanwhile the ship continued jarring as Blade fired on it, so the females did their best to maintain balance and momentum. None of the hits were enough to completely crash or destroy the vessel. Blade was merely coercing them into landing sooner rather than later. Along the way, the pair did run into a few pirates. They made short work of them, unwilling to give themselves away. The first pirate they ran into, Nadia launched her wrist blade which ended up stabbing him in the heart. The second one, Roxy used her wrist blades to slice his throat open. The third one, Nadia pulled her combi-stick out, and after launching it like a javelin, the pirate ended up being impaled and stuck against a wall. They recovered their weapons, and carried on. It was then that they heard the combination of a shrieking roar. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." Roxy started chanting. Blade was still tapped into the female's masks. He then pulled up the view of the ship. The hybrid was going to reach them before they reached the pods. He quickly set his ship to autopilot. At the very least they were out of space and in the lower stratosphere of a planet now. It would be unpleasant, but not hazardous. He was behind the pirates vessel in a visual blind spot, and fortunately his ship was still set for blocking their radar. He made his ship fire, blowing a hole into the hatch of the pirates vessel. Naturally their vessel jolted forward. Once in position, the hatch of his ship opened. Instantly the chill of the high altitude hit him as the wind whipped his dreadlocks around him. He took a few steps back, then he sprinted, leaping out of his ship with all of his might. The ramp closing behind him. He dived, their open hatch being his target. When he landed, he tucked into a somersault to avoid any loss in his momentum.
Once safely rolled back onto his feet he sprinted towards the females and the hybrid. Currently, the hybrid was so close that Nadia and Roxy were dodging its tail. Roxy turned only briefly to launch her net at it. The net wrapped around the hybrid and began to squeeze. The hybrid shrieked, whipping it's tail wildly as it thrashed. It's tail ended up slamming into Roxy. she flew backwards, landing on some piping and even bent it from the force. Nadia rushed to Roxy pulling her to her feet. The hybrid, now free from the net slammed its tail into both girls. Once again they hit against a wall before falling in a heap on top of each other. Both had the air taken from their lungs, and felt ringing in their ears even with the armor. The hybrid approached them, aiming its tail to stab into them. The girls recovered just in time to see it and held onto each other as they rolled out of the way together. The abomination roared in frustration. Then it was slammed into from the side. The girls were relieved when they saw Blade standing up straight, after having just slammed his shoulder into the monster. The hybrid shrieked as it whipped back around to its feet. Blade looked at Nadia and Roxy. "Get away. Take care of the pirates." He signed before facing off with the hybrid. The girls did as he said. Turbulence had now begun to rock the space ship. It was landing soon. Nadia and Roxy quickly ran towards where the pirates were, leaving Blade to deal with the abomination. "We do this fast, then we can help him." Roxy said and Nadia nodded. Their masks alerted them about the feet left in their descent. The girls quickly grabbed onto something sturdy as the ship hit the ground in what seemed to be some kind of desert dune. Once the ship had completely stopped, the girls stood and ran to the ship's control center. They wasted no time in dispatching any and all pirates. Roxy had learned a hard lesson about sparing anyone. Besides that, they had killed a Yautja to make way for that abomination. They'd be getting no sympathy from either female. All they could think about was if that was Blaze or Archer, or even Blade. They were furious. Once they had slaughtered the pirates, Nadia began going through all of their documents and computers. "What are you doing?" Roxy questioned. "I want to know if they had serpents on here that they sold or traded, and where they went if they did. Or if their business was solely that male downstairs and the monster they created... It's also part of the task Blade gave us." Nadia said softly. Roxy nodded and helped her look.
Blade picked himself up after having been launched by the hybrids tail. He pulled his katana off his back, and combined them to make his special version of a combi-stick. The abomination roared as he pierced its abdomen with the combi-stick. It responded by slamming its hand across his face, causing his head to turn. Blade roared and returned the kindness by punching it in its eyeless face. He sliced with the combi-stick ending up cutting its chest. They exchanged blows, Blade using the staff, and the hybrid switching between its claws and its tail. When it was knocked back, after already adding a few wounds he threw his combi-stick at it. It ended up stabbing into the abomination one more time. The hybrid wrapped its tail around Blade's ankle, tripping him. Before he was able to stand, it grabbed him and launched him down the corridor. Blade ended up crashing into some pipes so hard they actually bent until they broke. The hybrid had begun to pounce on him as he picked himself up, but Blade recovered quickly, punching it in the face again. Once again the duo exchanged blow after blow back and forth, until Blade ducked and once again did a somersault, rolling out of the way. Blade turned swiftly, but the hybrid disappeared. He growled as he began to backstep and looked left and right. The hybrid leaped out of nowhere. Blade launched his net at it and quickly moved out of the way. The hybrid, just as quick-witted, whipped its tail, hitting Blade partially in the side but also his back, and Blade fell to his knees from the force. The pair recovered at the same time and stared each other down as they stood.
By this time, Nadia and Roxy had found what they were looking for and were now back at Blade and the hybrid. Roxy moved to help, but Nadia grabbed her hand. "No." She said and Roxy looked at her like she was insane. Blade began taking his armor off, letting it all drop to the ground. "What is going on? He's not giving up is he?" Roxy whispered, only slightly panicked. "No... It's a Yautja thing. If they acknowledge someone or something as a worthy opponent this is how they respond. No automatic weapons, no technology... It is mutual respect. Besides that, a kill made with bare hands is their most honorable thing." Nadia responded. "How do you know this?" Roxy asked. "Because I'm their fangirl. But also Blaze told me." She replied with a shrug. Roxy nodded. The last thing Blade removed was his bio-mask. The abomination actually made no moves until he was done. So it was mostly serpent, but in some aspects it was like their beloved hunters as well. It might have been a monster, but still honorable like the Yautja it broke from. A full blooded serpent wouldn't have waited as this beast was. To an extent, Nadia wondered if it knew some love, and had guidance, could it be tamed and would it be loyal? She wanted to know, but this one was ending in life or death. If Blade won, of course it'd be dead. But even if Blade lost her and Roxy would have to do their best to kill it, or escape before Blade detonated their damned suicide bomb. No matter who won this duel, the results would be the same for the hybrid. She wanted to know, but didn't want to be like the evil people that had taken a Yautja's life just to create one.
When the mask was off, Blade roared. The hybrid reciprocated the action and then they two ran forward slamming into each other. They began to exchange blows as they had been doing since the start of this death match. Only now it was closer to a brawl, or some other form of wrestling match. They were mostly punching, throwing, or slamming their opponent against something. They were pretty evenly matched by way of strength. Deciding they were getting nowhere, the hybrid decided to kick it up a notch. As they were holding each other back, the hybrid released its mouthed tongue. The tongue pierced Blade's shoulder, before the hybrid then bit down with its actual mouth and the mandibles. Blade roared, Nadia and Roxy couldn't tell if it was pain, anger or both. Blade let go with one of his hands, reaching and grabbing ahold of the abomination's tongue. Using his strength he ripped the tongue out of the hybrid's mouth. It's blood pouring from it's now missing appendage as it shrieked in pain. The blood of the hybrid was a weird cross between Yautja and serpent. Its color was brighter than the serpents, but not flourescent like Yautja, and it was thinner like Yautja blood as well, unlike the thick acidic blood of the serpents, yet not too thin. Blade then made his wrist blades extend. He thrust upward, impaling the head of the hybrid on his blades, all the way through its skull. Although still not entirely finished, the hybrid thrust its tail, piercing Blade through his side. Blade roared, and that time it was definitely pain. It quickly switched to anger, however, as Blade ripped his wrist blades out of the serpent's skull, only to then slice across its throat, and sever its head entirely. The body of the hybrid collapsed onto the ground. Blade made the clicking growl as he stared at it.
Nadia and Roxy cheered, as they bounced up and down. Blade looked at them. "Are you injured?" He signed. Nadia and Roxy raised their eyebrows and couldn't help but laugh. "You have a hole in you and you are asking us that?" Blade just tilted his head. Nadia and Roxy walked over to him. Roxy slapped him on his shoulder, and Blade did a sharp intake of breath. "Ah I'm sorry!" She said frantically. Blade just seemed amused. "I just meant to say good job and all." She defended nervously. Blade just placed a hand on her shoulder as they always did for acknowledgement. "Did you find anything besides that?" He signed. "No actual serpents on board. But we found out where they got the egg to get that freaky thing that made this even freakier thing." Nadia said as she pointed to the hybrid. Blade nodded. "I think you're going to like where we have to go next." Roxy said smugly. Blade tilted his head again. "The black market. Where they sent our mates." Roxy said with a wink. Blade's eyes instantly brightened as he trilled. Nadia and Roxy both grinned. Blade gathered his weapons, mask and armor. He typed into his wrist gauntlet, setting its built-in explosive. After detaching the device, he placed it on the body of the abomination. After that they wasted no time in boarding their ship, then headed to their next destination. Blade might've even gone faster than usual, including a hyperjump or two. Nadia and Roxy weren't going to complain. They'd get to see their babies sooner, and now that they had recieved the implants Blaze spoke of, they didn't even leave their guts billions of miles away anymore.
----------Elsewhere in the Galaxy----------
The queen was released, and all hell broke loose. She was not a fan of being chained up, caged up, and treated like a plaything, or some kind of novelty. As such, she was in a rare form of being pissed off. To make matters worse, the guards had all reached the area by now. Dozens of guards surrounded her, poking her with cattle prods to keep her distracted, while at a safe distance others were loading tranquilizers. Dozens more were after the other serpents attempting mostly the same thing. Although they weren't as concerned with keeping them alive as they were the queen, so they were getting fired upon with real bullets. Blaze had since disappeared from their group and was now on the ground fighting with the serpents. Archer was firing his arrows at the queen. Claire was freeing all of the victims. When the guards noticed someone was letting the merchandise go, but someone else was firing arrows at other merchandise of course they changed targets. Their goal was no longer to contain the serpents and protect the masses. Instead they needed to retrieve their stolen goods, and protect the queen, otherwise identified as priceless merchandise. This meant that Archer had to redirect his fire from the queen to the guards, and Claire was now having to protect the victims instead of simply move them to safety. Considering Archer had been hurting their queen, the serpents had zeroed in on him as well. Even the queen, pissed off because of the pain she felt when his arrows met their mark, was targeting Archer. Archer growled with narrowed eyes as he stared down his enemies. Blaze snarled, putting himself between the majority and Archer. Together the brothers fought. Archer mostly aimed for the humans, as he could kill more with less, while Blaze was aiming mostly at the serpents. To their dismay, as the guards back up arrived, even they were aiming for the Yautja, the victims and Claire. Claire was fairing well all things considered. She was slicing down guard after guard. She knew the fear these victims felt, the hopelessness, the rage, the humiliation. She had felt it all herself once upon a time. Currently those old emotions were what was keeping her adrenaline pumping enough to somehow manage even against such steep odds. She was also using that female Yautja as her inspiration; she fought till the end. Claire didn't have the strength to then, just like these people didn't have it now, but she did, and she was making it count.
Claire got so fed up, that she actually began to use her plasma castors on some mere humans, while also taking care of them with her bare hands. As she kept the guards busy the victims continued to make their way away from the scene and to safety. Meanwhile Archer was running out of arrows, so he was resorting to his bare hands as well. It may not have been his strong suit, but it was enough for him to easily kill humans. Blaze had been going hand to hand this entire time. His combi-stick in one hand, while he launched the smart disc from his other. He had already impaled a few serpents, the smart disc he was using on the queen. It earned him most of the Kiande Amedha's attention, which is what he wanted. He dodged the strike of a tail, and then leaped from his perch. Whipping around, he slammed his combi-stick into the queen's skull as it extended. The Queen shrieked and began chasing after him in a rage. The remaining Kiande Amedha not far behind. Now that Archer was out of the woods, he nocked and loosed an arrow, taking out one of the Kiande Amedha that had gotten closest to his brother. Blaze was focusing mostly on tactical retreat, dodging tails and any serpents that had attempted to pounce. When Claire had taken care of the armed guards around her, she went to Archer and began helping him. Working together to dispatch guards while Blaze was successfully diverting the attention of the serpents. Archer ran out of his arrows sooner rather than later, Claire's adrenaline was wearing off as well and her stamina was now waning. The duo was surrounded by guards. Blaze was cornered by serpents. Blaze growled, quickly typing into his wrist gauntlet. He activated their bomb, and the countdown began. He was far enough away from Claire and his brother, that they might be thrown, but they wouldn't die, and that's what mattered. He made the same ground breaking roar they always made. The Kiande Amedha all pounced on him, and he and they all fell into a pile. The amount of serpents on top completely hiding Blaze from view as they wrestled.
Nadia didn't enjoy seeing her man disappear below a bunch of black serpents. Only she was allowed to be all over him like that those slimy bastards! She wasted no time in turning off her cloaking device as she leapt from Blade's ship. As soon as she landed she began grabbing their tails, ripping them off, and throwing them away. Blaze quickly recovered and flipped to his feet now that he had help. Although he thought it was his brother that had come. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw his mate instead. "I am so sick of you bastards stabbing my man! And it is not nice to throw people!" Nadia raged. Blaze looked at his wrist device, and he grabbed Nadia's wrist to get her attention. Nadia looked at him and then down hearing the beeping. Her mask translating the numbers on the countdown. They had almost no time. She looked at the serpents and their Queen who seemed to be hanging back and letting the small ones do the hard work for her. "Distract them." Nadia said, then grabbed his wrist removing the bomb. Blaze tilted his head, but he didn't ask any questions. He ran at the Kiande Amedha when she let him go, wielding only his knife and the wrist blades. Nadia quickly pulled out their wire and she lashed the bomb to her combi-stick. While Blaze distracted the little ones Nadia watched the bomb countdown. When it got low enough she sprinted forward. Pulling her arm back, with a mighty throw she launched it at the queen. It spiraled through the air, and embedded into the queen's neck. The queen of course shrieked and clawed at it. "Let's go!" Nadia screamed. The serpents left Blaze to rush to their queen as she shrieked. Blaze and Nadia then sprinted away. Blaze was faster initially, but he slowed down. Now he was running directly behind Nadia. The bomb soon detonated. Before it reached them, Blaze wrapped his arms around Nadia from behind, his body shielding hers. The blast trauma caused by the explosion's shock wave could kill a human, Blaze knew that, and everything went black.
Archer and Claire both glanced in the distance seeing the sky lit up by their explosive. By this time Claire was breathing heavily. Now the guards they were encountering had huge alien hounds with them. "That's not good... And neither is this." She said quietly and breathlessly. Archer glanced at her. "Now isn't the time to be giving up, female." He replied. Then someone, who appeared to be highly regarded stepped forward. The guards parted ways to make space for him. "We can reach an arrangement. Surrender, and get our merchandise back, and you live." He said plainly. Archer growled. "I'd rather die actually." Claire responded. The man looked at her. "Ah, you're a female in there? Well then, forget my offer. Instead I think we will make you the merchandise." He stated. "As for your freakishly large companion, I think the fighting rings could use something new." He added. He snapped his fingers and the guards and hounds all rushed at the duo. Just then two silhouettes dropped out of nowhere. Blade and Roxy uncloaked themselves. Blade launched their net catching one of the hounds. Roxy blocked a high attack, before stabbing her wrist blades into the guard's abdomen repeatedly until his intestines had begun to fall out. She was still seeing red, knowing these were the assholes that had killed a Yautja to make that monster. To make her even angrier, they wanted to throw her big, beloved bastard into fighting pits. Archer perked up. His mate really was hot. Claire managed to get her second wind the moment she saw her sweet Seară. The four united and began making quick work of the guards. While they were distracted, the man had quietly slipped away. Once the guards and the hounds were all dead, Roxy threw herself into Archer's arms. Archer hugged her. She pulled the tubes from his mask, and then made the helmet of her suit retract. The second her face and Archer's was exposed she forced her tongue into his mouth to perform their usual fight for dominance.
Claire cleared her throat. "Get a room you two, goodness..." She said, feeling a stare she glanced over. Blade had been staring at her the whole time. Claire blushed below the mask. When she looked at him Blade immediately began to chuff and trill. Claire smiled. He was just so incredibly adorable. Her smile fell when she saw the wounds on him, and she gasped. "Blade, oh my god!" She said as she wiped some blood off, only it was immediately replaced by more. She grabbed his clawed hands and made him sit down. Blade just cooed at her. "Are you hurt?" He signed. Claire removed her helmet and his mask, staring into his stormy eyes. She sighed, closing her eyes, then pressed her forehead to his as she cupped what would be his cheeks. Blade wrapped his arms around her waist hugging her close. Claire held him too, stroking his tendrils. Blade nuzzled his face into her as he chuffed. Roxy eventually broke from the kiss. Archer looked down at her. He tilted his head. "What troubles you?" He questioned. Roxy sighed. "I just saw something I didn't like very much." She replied. Archer nodded. "These bastards made a hybrid." She went on, once again Archer tilted his head. "They took one of you, embedded one of those things in his chest, and then one of those awful serpents crossed with one of you came out. Blade killed it, but it was terrifying. I mean he's number two badass, and look at him. What if there are others?" She said and Archer put a hand on her shoulder. "Then we will deal with it as we deal with all things. Don't worry." He reassured and Roxy nodded slowly. Roxy hugged him, and Archer hugged her too to console her. Then he felt her hands sliding under his armored skirt belt as she groped his ass. Archer looked down at her. "Sly." He said and lightly slapped her ass. She burst into giggles and continued to hold him. Then Roxy gasped. "Oh my god, Blaze and Nadia!" She remembered suddenly. Then all four rushed to where the explosion happened.
Nadia's eyes snapped open as she gasped for breath. She coughed a few times then rolled over onto her belly, before getting to her hands and knees. Her ears were ringing, and her vision had yet to focus. When it finally did she saw all the ash and cinders from the explosion floating around. It almost looked like snow. She looked around for Blaze. Her eyes landed on his form. He was face down, and way too still. She crawled over to him, grabbing him and rolling him onto his back. She also disconnected his mask and slipped it off. Seeing his closed eyes, tears began to form. "Zgură?" She sniffled softly as she held his face. She leaned her head down to hear or feel his breathing but she felt none. The tears spilled over as she glanced around frantically for help. Somehow this felt even worse than the first time. Nadia could only conclude that she loved him more now than she did then, but also he had saved her with his own body. "I'm pretty sure I loved you from the very first time I saw you." She whispered softly, then placed a kiss on his fangs and mandibles. She hugged him with her head on his chest as she sobbed. Within just a few minutes, she felt something cup her cheek before sliding up and gliding through her soft waves of dark hair. Nadia looked down, and Blaze was staring up at her. "Baby!" She cried out in joy as she held his hand. Blaze hugged her, and slowly sat up. She helped him, but hugged him at the same time too. "You scared me to death!" She yelled as tears slid down her face. Blaze poked her lips with one of his blunt claws. She parted them, probably to lecture him again, but Blaze slipped his tongue into her mouth and laced it with hers. Nadia instantly melted into him and the kiss. At this time the other four showed up. "I'd say they are fine." Archer said. Roxy giggled, Claire smiled, and Blade trilled. Blaze deepened the kiss and Nadia happily complied. Blaze and Nadia didn't stop until Roxy cleared her throat rather obnoxiously. Blaze broke from it and looked over. Nadia was just staring into the abyss of cloud nine, in a bliss. Blaze grabbed her hands guiding her to her feet. After that the six boarded Blade's ship and exchanged information.
"None of the serpents made it off this planet." Archer stated. "We caught them just in time. Unfortunately some of the people responsible did get away... Which means they'll just do it again. But they know about us now and may prepare." He grumbled. Blade nodded listening. Since this began, Roxy had yet to let go of Archer's ass. Claire was listening, but at the same time mostly watching Roxy's hand placement. She was just so thirsty it made Claire speechless. Nadia was still swooning from Blaze's unexpected kiss. Claire could understand both, and yet was still completely speechless. After the briefing before they moved on to the next thing Claire interrupted. "I know you guys are driven by your missions, but we are all battered and exhausted. Can't we please just rest for now?" She asked. The Yautja glanced at each other seemingly fine and ready to go, but then they looked to their mates and they nodded in agreement. "Very well." Archer said. Claire grabbed Blade's hand and pulled him quickly. Blade looked confused, but followed her without resistance. When they got to a private room Claire made him sit and started removing his armor. Blade cooed at her. Once it was off Claire examined the wounds. She pulled out a handkerchief, and wet it with some water. She began to dab and wipe the dried blood away to get a better look. She leaned down and gently kissed the area surrounding each wound. Blade trilled at her. When his wounds were cleaned, she pulled out their first aid kit. She mixed the blue liquid up, and applied the paste to his wounds. Blade of course let her and held still the entire time. As soon as she was satisfied with her care, she pulled him back onto his feet. They went to the bathroom and bathed together, washing each other. Meanwhile the other couplings were doing things very similarly. "Blaze will you please just get an exam done? First you got impaled by that bitch, and I'm still not sure if you've healed internally or not. Now you got caught in that blast! What if your organs are basically liquid inside of there?" Nadia pleaded. Blaze was more focused on her bruising though, so she wasn't sure how much he actually heard. They showered together and so he noticed them. Now that they were finished, he was applying some kind of cream to her injuries. He checked his work afterwards, and nodded in satisfaction. "Zgură!" Nadia yelled and he looked at her, snapping out of his focus. "Did you hear anything I just said?" She muttered. Blaze tilted his head. "Evidently not." She scoffed. Blaze tilted his head the other way. "I said will you go get looked at by a doctor." She repeated. "No need." He replied. Nadia raised a brow. "No need my butt. You were caught in that blast. It even knocked you out and you stopped breathing! There's no way you're fine." She said. "But I am fine." He answered. "You were caught in it too, and you're only a human. You should be the one seeking examination." He added. Nadia huffed. "You blocked me remember? You need one more than I do." She stated. "Let's compromise. I will get this examination. But only if you do as well." He bargained. Nadia nodded. "Deal then." She said. Blaze nodded as well. The pair then held each other as they laid back, and fell asleep in each other's arms.
Roxy was snuggled into Archer's side, her upper body laying on top of his. He had applied the same cream to her that Blaze put on Nadia. "Did you get hurt anywhere?" She asked as she stared at his closed eyes. Archer simply shook his head no, gently trailing his blunt claws up and down her arm. Roxy nodded and snuggled closer. "How do you think the others are doing?" She inquired. Archer opened his eyes and glanced down at her. "I imagine about the same as we are. Possibly better or worse in some cases." He replied simply, and his eyes closed again. Roxy got quiet after that. This was the first time since they met that he actually seemed to be tired. She took the time instead to stare at the details of his face. "One last question." She spoke up and Archer opened his eyes again to look at her. "Do you think Raptor would ever accept a human to be his mate?" She asked. Archer sat up faster than she could blink. "Why do you want to know that?" He said with narrowed eyes. Roxy snorted. "Calm down you big bastard. I'm not interested. I'm just trying to set him up with someone who happens to be human and my friend. You know her actually." She said plainly with a shrug. Archer tilted his head. "Marissa." She clarified and this time was Archer's turn to snort. "What?" She asked. "The one that screams and cries all the time?şoc wouldn't look at her, much less touch and mate with her. Even if she was the last female in the universe. He's older, and therefore as traditional as we come. If she were fierce like you or even Nadia he may consider. But she is too cowardly and submissive for him to even think about her." Archer replied. He sure was brutally honest, and theoretically she should defend Marissa. However, Archer had a point. Blaze was nicer than şoc by far, and even he had no time for Marissa. Roxy sighed quietly. "If you truly want her to be with one of us, and she also has these thoughts... Maybe look at one besides şoc." Archer suggested and Roxy sighed again. "But şoc is who has caught her eye." She replied and Archer shrugged. "Then she needs to, as humans put it, show some backbone?" Archer said as he tilted his head and Roxy couldn't help but laugh. She pushed him back down then, and she went back to her original position of half laying on him as she snuggled and hugged him. Archer held her as he gently tickled her arm again. He closed his eyes, and this time Roxy could tell he was asleep. The slower, deeper breaths gave it away, and also the very subtle and low growl they made instead of the obnoxious snores most human males did. He also stopped rubbing her arm. Roxy smiled as his breathing and the growls lulled her to sleep as well.