The war begins.
The great hall buzzed with nervous chatter, witches, wizards, seventh year students and even some Yautja, had all hastily gathered in the great hall. Most of them had been rudely awakened by a picture in their bedrooms yelling and screaming for them to get up and go to the great hall in Hogwarts. Two reporters were on sight, one Yautja and the other coming from the Daily Prophet, a camera rolling and a quill writing hastily across paper. The only thing that they knew was that something disastrous had transpired at Hogwarts and Dumbledore needed the help of as many people as he could get, and he needed them now. Bleary eyed and still rather tired the crowd seemed to be ready to help.
Motioning for quiet Dumbldore walked up to a recently conjured podium and began to explain. "Yesterday morning we found a Yautja warrior under the Imperius curse, this individual delivered a startling message and then left. What the message contained I cannot say at this point in time, however the news was grave and we tracked the individual down. Upon lifting the curse we found the part of his memory that pertained to his predicament to be wiped. We gave him food and a room to rest in, his physical and mental condition was in perfect order, and he was not permanently harmed in any way, or so we thought. Sadly we found him to be dead less then an hour ago." At this the room gave a collective gasp and broke into quick chatter once more. Dumbledore quickly hushed the room again and continued. "A creature had burst from his chest, a xeno it is called as that is what it is, alien to every environment, a xeno in its very definition to the entire galaxy. At about the same time we found that Hagrid's brother Grawp had also died in a similar, gruesome fashion. We need your help in finding these two creatures, luckily we have three experts who have just joined us." Dumbledore motioned to the back of the room where Harry, Raj and Homer stood in full combat gear. "Gentlemen if you could please explain exactly what we are looking for."
Homer nodded at Dumbledore and stepped forward to explain. "A xeno's life cycle starts off in an egg which is laid by a queen. In the egg there is a pale pinkish creature with long finger like legs and an even longer tail. We call it the face hugger, its job is to find a suitable host and implant an egg into its stomach. The egg will mature inside the host, undetected and unnoticed until it chews its way through its host's chest, a very painful experience that ends in the host's death. However after impregnation the face hugger will scurry off and die, what is startling is that we have not found a face hugger at the warriors place of death. Now, this new creature, the one that bursts from the host's chest, inherits its host's physical characteristics and in a small way, mannerisms. Tt comes out of the host as a snake like creature, with tiny undeveloped limbs. At this point it is relatively harmless, a mere nuisance to anything bigger then a cat or small dog. But grows, very quickly, to grow it has to eat, and it can find small animals very quickly, in any weather. No matter what type of host it will reach full maturity within twenty-four hours or less, depending on how quickly it finds a food source. Depending on the host the creature will look and behave differently, only three things remain constant out of any type of xeno. They are fast, extremely strong, intelligent, and they come from a hive, meaning that they have the same goal and work together like ants. Most of these creatures can climb anything, fall from great heights without getting hurt and they have acid for blood. They are utterly perfect. They are the most perfect and most lethal species you can come up against, ever. They survive by adapting to any environment and assuming control of the said environment, and throughout our contact with them we have found them in almost any environment imaginable." Homer let this information sink to those in the room before continuing with the bad news. The Yautja reporter however was pale, or rather what amounted to being pale for a Yautja, he like every other Yautja in the room knew full well about what a xeno was and its utterly terrifying capabilities. "These two creatures are currently in their snake like stage and will stay that way for the next couple of hours, after that they will reach the adolescent stage and kill all of you easily, I must caution the Yautja out in the audience. Yes you are physically superior to a human, but not by anywhere near enough, unless you have taken chemotherapy and forms of mental conditioning, in which case good luck. This bring us to the bad news, one of these creatures we know the characteristics of, it is called a Predalien and it is the most dangerous type of alien we have ever come across. One of these Predaliens took on five fully trained and blooded warriors in an arena where nothing was in its favor. Out of the five opponents, my brother Raj was only one that lived through that fight." At this Homer stepped back and let Harry finish.
"The other came out of Grawp, some of you know him. He is a giant and we can only guess as to what as come out of him. We have named it the Carnifex and believe that it will be built like a tank, not very fast but very powerful, tough and large. We need your help in finding these creatures when they are most vulnerable, in two hours time you will all retreat, do another full search of the school, make sure all windows and entrances are barricaded. Professor Dumbledore has informed me that evacuation of Hogsmead is under way and in three hours the school will be evacuated as well. An urgent call for help has been sent out in case the three of us are killed." Harry paused and then in a very authorative and optimistic voice ordered. "If you would all please gather in groups of ten and spread out to search the grounds and the forest. If you happen to spot anything please signal us." With that the three Predators donned their helmets and ran out into the blizzard, splitting up to cover more ground.
As they ran outside alien-tech vision mode on, Harry asked a question that had been nagging at the back of his mind since they had found the dead body of Ex. "Guys give me an honest opinion, what are our chances of actually finding these two in their current form?"
"With this much area, and so many places for them to hide…Next to nothing." Homer admitted.
"Guess it's a good thing I brought my mace out." Raj put in. "The best bet of taking down the Carnifex will be to stun it, if its anything like a Riposite Queen we'll only have a couple clean shots at it and if they don't hit critical spots the hits won't do much, but even a glancing blow with the mace should make it loose its balance or go spinning. Then you two can follow up and if need be I'll go at it again, remember if this thing hits you it won't have to hit you again. Against the Predalien our best bet will be to get it at range, unload everything you have on it, if we're lucky we'll kill it, if not we should at least be able to wound it and slow it down some, but even that is hoping. If we do have to go at it in a fight I want Homer to stay back and try to put a few spears in it's head while Harry and I distract it." Raj instructed.
Harry couldn't help but smile…distract it.
Nearly a hundred witches, wizards and a few Yautja made their way out into the freezing snowstorm; most of them were a little groggy from having gotten up so early but were nevertheless eager to find these two creatures that did not pose any real threat at the moment. The search party scoured the grounds, looking for any hint that the aliens might be nearby; once or twice they thought they saw something, only to realize it was large stick or the tip of a boulder. After two and a half hours no one had found anything, with the weather, the creature's size and the large area to search finding the two aliens was like finding a needle in a field. Knowing that the Predalien and Carnifex would be reaching adolescence at about this point in time the order was given for everyone to go to a safe location, far away from Hogwarts and Hogsmead.
During the time that the search was being conducted Hogsmead was fully evacuated of all individuals and all air traffic was suspended until further notice. Forty minutes after the civilian search was called back, Harry, Raj and Homer received a message from Dumbledore. "Hogsmead has been evacuated and so has Hogwarts, there is no body present within the surrounding area. We wish you all the best of luck gentlemen, take care."
"Thank you Professor." Harry responded and closed the line, knowing that they could be in a fight at any second. Now it was Predator against Alien, the first battle in a new war had begun on Hogwarts grounds, a war that would make the Voldemort's reign of terror look like a mere sandbox scuffle.
For the next three hours they searched the woods, trying to find any sign of the two aliens, but still to no avail. After another hour Homer had a revelation. "Guys, stop for a minute and come up to the castle entrance, I just thought of something."
A short while later they gathered at the now abandoned Hogwarts, the storm howling against the castle's sturdy walls.
"What is it?" Raj asked once they had finally gathered together.
"We need to eat some food, rest up a bit and have them come to us. Where ever they are we're not going to find them and I don't want to be even a little under strength when we do, or they find us." Homer suggested.
"Okay, I'm not tired at all but I'll go along with the plan if you're fully sure." Said Harry.
"Trust me I am."
And so the trio had some food that was left for them and waited for the two aliens to come to them, the whole time they felt as like they were being watched. The weather itself had become completely still, it was the calm before the hurricane, the weather seemed almost as if it too were resting before the big show. Five hours later the motion sensors set up around Hogwarts registered movement, two blips, coming in from two different directions. Alerted to the alien presence Harry, Raj and Homer got up from where they were resting, brushing the snow off themselves. They had taken turns napping and talking with Dumbledore and the girls through the comm. Link. On their end things were going very well, the wizarding world was now alerted to the new developments and what was going on at Hogwarts.
"Professor Dumbledore." Harry said through the comm. link.
"Yes?" Replied a weary Dumbledore who had been badgered with all sorts of questions, most of which he did not know the answer to.
"Keep the area quarantined as best you can. If you don't hear from us within the next hour presume the worst." Harry informed him gravely.
"I understand Harry, good luck, all of you." Dumbledore replied.
Closing all channels to make sure that there would be no interruptions Harry turned to look at Raj and Homer. "You know what to do if we fail." Harry said, looking down at his wrist. The two nodded, if they were the last ones alive and they had no chance of making it out alive they were to set off an ion bomb which was located on their wrists.
"Listen we don't have much time to stop them before they get into the castle, I say split up and attack them out here, if they get inside and we lose track things will get a lot harder." Said Raj, following the movement of the two dots on HUD. "I'll take the Carnifex, you two take the Predalien." And without another word set off towards the slower and large moving red dot.
"Lets do this." Homer said confidently, taking out his spear gun and readying it.
"Lets." Replied Harry, an eager smirk beneath his helmet.
The wind and snow picked up again as if signaling the start of the battle, the blizzard picking up in intensity with every passing second. As he ran towards his prey Raj unclasped his two handed mace, holding it tightly in one hand as he ran. As he rounded a corner he saw it, standing beside the whopping willow which was very much broken up, patiently waiting for him, its posture signifying a challenge to fight, daring him to make the first move.
The Carnifex was giant, a mass of armor plating and raw muscle, it stood on two bulky and yet powerful legs at around eighteen feet in height, it had two massive arms with razor sharp spikes protruding from all over its body giving it a truly fearsome and massive look. Any rational being that looked upon the beast would have shot it with everything they had, but Raj was not rational, he was always looking for a challenge and this was his biggest one yet. For him shooting something meant it was not worth the fight or effort and so he obliterated lesser creatures, preferring to go up against real opponents such as Preatorian guard, queens and other such monstrosities with steal and flesh. That and the fact that his plasma cannon obliterated anything it hit made collecting trophies a challenge in itself when he used it on anything.
Cautious not to take his eyes off the Carnifex he detached his massive cannon and power pack and put them on the ground beside him, then the two looked at each other for a moment, looking for obvious flaws in the others form, sizing each other up. Even through the howling weather they could make out the other's eagerness. Then suddenly they charged at each other, roaring loudly as they ran, snow billowing around them as they raced forward at speeds that belied their size, with a few feet to go Raj jumped as hard as he could, swinging his mace in a powerful arc. The mace hit the Carnifex's left shoulder, the force of the crushing blow knocking the beast down, unfortunately the Carnifex's spiked right fist, which easily contained two tons of force, connected with Raj's side, sending him flying through the air and then sliding through the thick snow, creating a dirty trench as he cut into the ground.
With their first hit both had given and received grievous wounds, the Carnifex's left shoulder was crushed and bleeding heavily, but really that was nothing. Raj's left side was in no better condition, his massive shoulder armor crushed completely, fortunately though it had done its job and taken a lot of the force, but still he could feel two broken ribs and his left shoulder was definitely fractured, another hit like that and he would not be able to use his left hand. Ripping off the armor that cut into his skin he shook off the pain and dirty snow.
They ran at each other again, starting at a slow, cautious pace, each knowing that not many hits would be exchanged before the fight was over. Closing in Carnifex punched out with its fist, exactly the kind of thing Raj was hoping for as he side stepped at the last second and met the fist with his mace. The mace hammered into the fist, pulverizing it in a sickening crunch of bone, sinew and acidic blood that violently showered the area. The Carnifex roared out in pain, with its right arm useless it followed up with the left, attempting to decapitate Raj in one fell swoop and end the fight, the attack was powerful but slow and Raj was able to dodge it, stepping closer that proved to be his mistake. As Raj dodged the Carnifex kneed him in the stomach, the three largest spikes penetrating his armor, but Raj was a heavy predator and could take that kind of punishment, as the three spikes tried to dislodged themselves he blocked out the searing pain and continued with what would have to be his final chance at victory. Still impaled on the Carnifex's knee he swung at the side of its head and thankfully the blow struck home, the mace violently smashing the Carnifex's head sending acid blood pouring down onto Raj who immediately pulled himself away, letting the behemoth fall down with a heavy thud, snow flying up in a cloud around the body.
Severely wounded but alive Raj roared out in victory thrusting his arm out to the skies above. Knowing that he would not be able to reach his brother and Harry in time to help them he set about taking trophies of his kill, always careful of the acidic blood that gushed like a river.
Harry and Homer tracked the fast moving dot on their HUD, they were coming up on the southern side of Hogwarts, where the large boulders lay scattered about, a perfect place for an ambush.
"I say we take this thing out from range if we can." Homer suggested, taking out his perfectly designed custom spear gun, much better then Harry's in every way.
"Agreed." Harry responded, the dual barrel plasma caster slid into position on his shoulder with a soft whine, indicating it was fully operational, a green triangle followed his eyes on the display, his gun following the movements.
Then almost too fast for either Homer or Harry to follow, the Predalien darted towards the castle, using the cover around itself to maximum effect. Spears whizzed through the blizzard, chipping rock and missing the alien by mere millimeters. Running parallel bright bolts of blue plasma shrieked through the area, each one charged at maximum power, the bolts sent bits of rock flying and snow melted with a hiss, turning it into a hissing steam.
They followed the alien, taking shots as they raced after it, but it was always a half step ahead of them. The alien reached the castle within seconds and slammed its way through tough solid rock walls of Hogwarts castle, bolts of plasma impacting around the entrance, and a couple inside the castle itself.
"Fuck." Harry swore. They hadn't hit the damn alien, it was inside the castle, and part of the castle wall now closely resembled the dark side of the moon. "Hey Homer I think you got, at least a bit." Harry noted a small sizzle on the wall.
"Ya but that'll just piss it off some more." Homer joked in a sort of serious way.
"So tea and crumpets are out of the picture then?"
"I'd say so, yes."
After flinging a few bombs into the castle to make sure the alien wasn't waiting for them just in side, the pair made their way into what was left of a corridor. As they began to carefully follow the path of burning blood a new inconvenience made it's presence known. Their trackers were picking up anything that moved, and in Hogwarts a lot of things moved, making the trackers therefore obsolete in the castles tight confines.
AN. That is where I will leave you guys at this chapter. Thank you all for reading and now I have a question to ask all of you, and I will be tallying the results. Who do you want to see get seriously hurt but also gain something … bionic, if any of you have seen it, think about the movie I Robot and the special thing that the main character - Will Smith has. Whether this happens to Harry or Homer doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but its just something nifty I'd like to put in, and since I can't decide which I'm asking you guys for help. Thanks.
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