Hello! Yeah, I know, I'm taking my sweet time posting, but I wasn't satisfied with this one (and I am still not, though I find it at least acceptable), so I spent a lot of time on it, sorry.

On a lighter tone, this is the last chapter of this story, though I may add an Omake someday in the future (hopefully not too far ahead). Enjoy!

##I don't own Alien, Predator, or AVP##

29

Epilogue

"Hey, watch out!"

Kathryn didn't bother looking back at the boy she had just bumped into, and while she would probably have spent a few minutes apologizing a few months ago, now she couldn't bring herself to care. The boy simply glared at her retreating back, before turning back and continuing his walk. The bitch was well-known around town. How could she not be? Her crazy brother had caused the insanity of one of his friends, and the death of a fine member of the community, before vanishing overnight. If that wasn't enough, he had caused a massive leak of gas, causing mass hallucinations. Of course, most people knew she wasn't responsible for her brother's wrongdoings, but seeing as they had been close before his disappearing, people couldn't help but feel that she had some kind of responsibility in his acts. The fact that she had kept defending him, no matter how she was shown the results of her brother's actions, had progressively driven away her friends, and now, nobody wanted anything to do with her.

Kathryn simply continued walking, as if nothing was wrong with the world, as if everything was just as it had been and as it should be. People had fallen back to their daily routines, shopping, gossiping, as if nothing had ever happened, only that now she was the subject of the gossip, as well as the target of the dirty looks people gave her. Did they really think their poorly masked comments, their hateful gazes would escape her? Did they really think they were discreet? She could have easily shattered their comfortable illusions, but chose not to. In a town where everyone (or almost everyone) was against her, it was better ignoring the foolish masses. What had surprised her, though, had been that Lucia had joined said masses. It had been a long, painful process, but her longtime friend had finally abandoned her, seeing as she couldn't convince Kathryn that the proofs the military had given were ironclad.

Of course they are, she mentally snorted. Did she really believe that what had happened had been a hallucination? Then how come all those that had been related to what had happened had been thoroughly interrogated? She herself had been asked the same questions again and again, and each time she had lied to the officer in front of her. Why would she tell them the truth? What had they done for her brother? Nothing. They had even searched her bedroom, but she had had the time to hide the book that Kane had given her. Who would've thought to look in the school's library? Even if she was spied on, nobody would be surprised to see her read in the library, and the book would not be found until she decided it. Well, considering that after she had memorized the contents she had burned them after reducing it to shreds, and finally buried the ashes, it might be hard to find. She might have been considered paranoid, but she considered it was better safe than sorry. Considering the number of times she had noticed strangers staring at her back or following her, she believed it was better that way.

Of course, her parents had suddenly become a lot more present in her life, and that had disgusted her. She didn't know what they had been told, but she suspected it involved some kind of monetary retribution, seeing as they kept prodding her for the tiniest bits of information. Had they forgotten this was about their own son? The son they had all but ignored all these years? The son that had taken care of the daughter they had neglected in their need to stay away, in their need to further their careers? Were they that stupid, as to expect her to betray the one person who had always been there for her?

That line of thought made her pause, and several people gave her annoyed looks, seeing as she was blocking the way. She didn't care though, for she was in pain. Not physical pain, although it wasn't far from that, but emotional pain. She missed Kane, her beloved brother, and the man she loved. She was alone, all alone, even her grandfather had left her, preferring to go on a trip to try to find remnants of alien civilization, now that he had had proof it existed. Her parents were but greedy fools, they didn't care about her, only about what they could gain by using her, and her closest friend thought she was delusional. Kane...Oh, how she wished she could see him...How she wished she could hold him, inhale his scent, just bask in the happiness of knowing he was here for her.

She sighed and resumed her walking. She may miss him, that would not make him come back. She was still sad that he had decided to abstain from giving her news, she had thought he would have had at least done so, but he hadn't. She guessed it was for security reasons, but for once in her life, she wanted, really wanted him to disregard safety reasons. Oh, how she wished he could send her a letter, call her, anything that would allow her to know he was alive and well.

As she got home, she saw that the mailbox was, once again, overflowing with hate mail. It had started a little after the "Incident", as people now referred to it, and though the first letters had been merely insulting, the more recent ones had been downright awful, some letters even having objects with them, such as razor blades, sleeping pills and the like. And all that for the simple reason she was the sister of the scapegoat for the Incident, and that she refused to badmouth him. Well, it was a small price to pay for showing her beliefs, compared to some other things. At least the bullying had stopped only a week after it had started, when a teacher that wasn't from town had punished students for stealing her belongings.

Entering the house, she went straight for her bedroom, pausing for a moment before glancing inside her brother's bedroom. It was empty, all the furniture had been taken away by the military, who had looked everywhere they could to get samples of everything, hair, blood, etc... The worst part was that her own parents had agreed, after a rather large deposit on their banking account. She was disgusted with their attitude, allowing a profanation, that was what it was, of the bedroom of their own adopted son, only because they were greedy.

Going back to her own room, she let her bag fall on the ground, and simply threw herself on the bed. There, in her sanctuary, she cried. She cried for her brother, she cried for the man she loved but would never love her as a lover, she cried for the unfairness of the world. She simply stayed like that, shedding bitter tears, as she had done every day for the last three weeks. Not once had she heard an affectionate word in these three weeks, not one truly felt anyway.

Slowly, she cried herself to sleep, not once noticing the drone filming her.

The next morning, she went to school, and once again, she was shunned. She was used to it by now, however, she couldn't help but feel a pang of anger when she saw Lucia talking to several other girls. She knew it wasn't her fault, yet it was hard to swallow, knowing your best friend, whom you'd think would stick with you through everything, no matter what, considered you a raving lunatic. Oh, she hadn't said anything of the sort, but it was easy to see in her eyes that she considered Kathryn as someone who was slightly mad, and "slightly" mad, only because it was her brother she was defending against all odds.

At lunch, she ate alone, not bothering with the glances people kept throwing her. Quickly losing her appetite, she left the cafeteria, hoping to find a silent place, where she would be able to reminisce about her brother in peace. Considering it was still winter, she chose the rooftop, knowing that the odds of someone braving the ice cold wind were small enough to be considered non-existent.

Climbing the stairs, she opened the door leading to the rooftop, and softly close it. In the winter cold wind, her long dark hair billowed, until she tucked stray strands of it behind her ears. Her eyes were moist with tears, however, knowing if it was from grief or simply the effect of the ice cold wind on her eyes was arguable. With a sigh, she watched the few students brave enough to spend time outside, instead of rushing back home or somewhere warmer. The banality of it all, without anyone to criticize or pity her, allowed her to feel slightly better. She idly wondered if this was what Kane had been used to, minus the aggressive stares and comments. It was no wonder, then, that he didn't hold humanity in high regard.

At the end of the day, she was miserable again, and held a neutral face purely by habit, as she would have loved to simply break in tears. She took her usual walk back home, avoiding most populated areas, as she didn't want to give people a reason to make fun of her.

As she entered the house, however, she saw three pairs of shoes, instead of the two of her parents. Were they having a guest? They hadn't told her about that! Again, while they tried to look concerned with her life, they usually failed quite spectacularly at it, as it was a bit late to try to learn things about their daughter when she was in high school, and didn't want anything to do with them.

Intent on at least seeing who they had invited, she went for the living room. As she had expected, she saw her parents, sitting on the sofa, who were talking to a woman in her mid-twenties by the look of it, who was sitting in one of the armchairs, her legs crossed.

Said woman was beautiful, her dark hair combed into a complicated-looking hairstyle, that increased her regal figure. Her face was pale, and delicate-looking, with dark eyes and dark red lips. She was wearing something that looked like a business suit, with long pants that covered her feet. There was something familiar with this woman, though Kathryn couldn't bring herself to remember where she could have seen her.

As she entered the room, the woman turned her head, and seeing her, gave her a true smile, which surprised her in its sincerity and the apparent lack of ulterior motives behind it. In the last months, she had been rather accustomed to false smiles and fake facial expressions, so seeing someone who seemed genuinely happy to see her was rather enjoyable.

"Ah, Kathryn! How was your day?" her mother asked, apparently still trying to get into her daughter's good graces. It was a pity she didn't understand that she wouldn't be doing so by simply treating her as a normal teenage girl.

"As usual. People keep giving me weird glances, call me "crazy bitch" when they think I can't hear them, and I've found several hate messages on my desk. Nothing new."

Turning to the woman, she gave her a curt nod, as she wasn't really sure about her intentions.

"Hello, I'm Kathryn Stern. Pleased to meet you."

At that, the woman gave her a musical laugh, though it was not mocking, rather a pleased sound.

"Oh, but we've already met before. I guess you don't remember me, since I changed a lot, but it's a pleasure to see you again. Actually, I came here for you, you see."

At that, Kathryn tensed. The only ones who came to see her recently were somehow involved with the military or private conglomerates, wanting to squeeze whatever information they could from her. Some were frank, those at least she was curt with, as they at least had the decency to be honest, others claimed they wanted to give her a scholarship or whatever they could come up with to bribe her. Those, she told them in no uncertain terms what she thought of them and their little plots.

She was brought back to reality by the woman who gestured her to sit down. She grudgingly sat on one of the other armchairs, all her senses on high alert. She would not be tricked in divulging Kane's secrets, no matter what!

"Good, now that Kathryn is here, I can get down to business."

Immediately, her parents brought their faces a little closer to the woman, intent in listening to everything they could possibly use to gain something. Kathryn just frowned, disgusted with their greedy behavior. How could she be related to these...these scheming bastards!

At once, the woman's smile disappeared, to be replaced with a look of pure contempt as she looked at the couple, who shrunk back in the sofa.

" . . Not pleased at all by how you're treating your daughter, and how you're doing nothing to help her when she needs someone, what with the whole town turning on her.

-Miss, how we are treating our daughter is none of your concern!" growled her father, looking angry, probably because he had seemingly lost the opportunity to gain some money.

As the woman turned to gaze upon her, the smile came back.

"Of course it is. You see, I, and my family with me, have been willing to give you one chance to redeem yourselves in our eyes. Unfortunately for you, you have failed, badly I must add. Had you been there for her in her times of need, we would have left you alone, but now, I'm afraid you'll have to answer for your actions."

The woman's voice was cold, yet musical, and resonated strangely, as if there was some kind of echo behind each word. Kathryn found herself captivated by the sound, which was pure music to her ears.

Her father, however, didn't seem so pleased, and had stood up, his face red in anger. The woman simply smirked at him, apparently not feeling the slightest hint of fear or discomfort.

"You will leave my house now, and leave my family alone!"

The woman's smirk only grew wider.

"Family? Please, you are no family of Kathryn's. I had to take care of her mostly by myself, as you were too busy with your own business to even spare time for your children." a new voice chimed in, masculine this time. It was deep, and made Kathryn and her parents shiver. Somehow, they had the feeling that they were a trapped mouse before a hungry lion.

"Who is here?! Show yourself!" her father shouted, though he seemed less angered than before, and more cowed.

The voice chuckled, sending shivers down Kathryn and her parents' spines.

"You think you can order me around? How amusing. I don't remember ever listening to you before, so why should I start now? However, as you seem so eager to see me, I will listen to you...this one time."

From behind the sofa, a form appeared out of thin air. One second, there was nothing, and the next, He was there. Kane. The one person she had missed so much she had wanted to die. Without even thinking, she ran up to him, and hugged him, her eyes moist with tears of happiness.

"KANE! Kane! Kane! Kane!"

With his clawed hand, he gently patted her head, making her almost faint in happiness. How she had missed this, these small gestures that meant so much to her! How she had missed the one person she confided in, the one person who took care of her, no matter what. Should she have a nightmare, he'd comfort her, and stay with her until she went back to sleep, should she injure herself, he'd be there ASAP and take care of her bruise.

Though she was happy to see her brother, the fact that he was now a lot taller than previously was a little unnerving, as it made her look like a little girl hugging her father, though she didn't really mind, as long as he was there. Her parents and the woman were completely disregarded, as the two siblings basked in the happiness to know they were together again.

Finally, after a little while, the woman coughed, attracting their attention.

"Why, Kane, should my sister be jealous?"

Kathryn looked between the woman and her brother questioningly.

"Her sister?

-Yeah, her sister. You remember K'tyss, right?

-But...the only...you mean...just...how?" Kathryn asked, completely lost as she understood just who the woman was.

She just couldn't believe this woman was the same being that had come to her school only a few months prior, and terrorized everyone. How could this be possible? How could she become, for lack of a better word, human?

Seeing her startle look, Kane chuckled.

"Yeah, a lot has happened since I left. Long story short, we've only been able to come here for the last two weeks. Before that, we simply didn't have the technology to do so. Anyway, I believe you know why I'm here, right?"

Kathryn shook her head. She had several ideas, but none of them seemed realistic, as most of them either involved him telling her he loved her (which, while it was the case, was more in the sibling kind of love) or that he had come to take her away, options that didn't seem believable to her.

Kane simply smiled.

"Well, at first, I came here to make sure you were fine, but after seeing how these...people...had been treating you, we thought you might be interested in coming with us. Of course, you are free to stay here if you want, we can stay in contact. It's your choice."

Kathryn could barely hold back her tears. She had wanted so much to be with him, and now she could! Even if she was not his girlfriend, she still was someone he loved, and that was already more than she could have hoped. Why would she want to stay on Earth with people that didn't even treat her brother or herself right?

Seeing the look on her face, her brother chuckled.

"Ok, so you want to come with us. Well then, why don't you pack your things? Stryss, help her please. I have a few things to settle here."

With that, he leveled a glare to his parents who were trying to sink into the sofa. Completely disregarding them, Kathryn went for her room, followed by the now human Stryss. Now that she had the occasion to see her move, she saw it was both predatory and sensual. It reminded her of a feline. A very beautiful looking feline.

As she entered her room and started pulling out several things she knew she would need, she noticed that Stryss hadn't moved from the entrance of the room.

"You aren't coming in?"

The hybrid seemed a bit sheepish, which surprised Kathryn.

"I don't want to intrude.

-Please, you aren't intruding, so come on in." As Stryss did so, Kathryn took out a bag and started stuffing it with clothes.

"So, how about we talk, while I gather my things?

-What do you want to know?

-Everything, but considering we will have all the time we need later, why don't we start by the introductions?"

Stryss chuckled at that.

"Indeed, I believe that I didn't introduce myself properly last time. I am Stryss, K'tyss's sister, and H'Chak-kta's mate. You will meet him soon, since we could not all come here. And you are Kathryn, Kane's "baby sister"."

Kathryn nearly dropped the bras she had been putting in her bag when she heard her old nickname, and blushed crimson.

"He promised me he would never tell anyone!

-I think he doesn't mind telling us as we are family. I doubt he'd tell anyone else anyway. Now, I believe you are curious about my new body.

-Am I that easy to read?

-Not really. I just thought that you may want to know how I went from a "seven feet monster" to "tall human female". To answer that, I have to make you understand this: I am not human. This body looks human, but is actually a mix between what I was before and what I am now. As a matter of fact, I am more human than Kane is, though it depends on his mood.

-Excuse me? I don't really understand what this has to do with my brother's mood.

-Actually, we managed to get a hold of the technology that created us. After studying it and the documents left by the one that created us, we managed to create a serum that can reinforce either part of our genome, therefore our physical traits are no longer something we cannot fix, though there is still a limit to what we can do. However, out of all of us, Kane is the one who has the more adaptable genetic material."

Kathryn had to sit on her bed. They could modify their genome at will? Just how could they do that? That meant that they could literally adapt to everything!

At the same moment, a scream was heard coming from the living room, but when she went to see what had happened, Stryss simply caught her wrist and shook her head.

"Don't. Kane is having a conversation with your parents, and he is very pissed at them. Before we came here, after we saw what had been happening to you, he was so angry he nearly destroyed a few walls with how strong he had been hitting them. So I doubt he will go easy on your parents."

Seeing the look on Kathryn's face, she quickly reassured her.

"Don't worry, he will not kill them, but I'm sure he has found a few ways to punish them. You have to understand that while he knows you don't want him to kill your parents...

-Actually, now, I'm not sure I would mind." Kathryn growled bitterly. Sure, before, even if her parents were never at home, at least she could imagine that they were doing some good with their jobs. Now, though, she had seen their real faces, bowing to whoever could get them more money or/and fame, without even a hint of interest for their own children.

Stryss looked a little surprised at the anger in her voice, but slowly let go of her wrist. As she apparently could tell that Kathryn was not joking when she said she may not mind the murder of her parents by her brother, she grinned.

"That's good. We were afraid that you may have a ..."cultural shock", as Kane put it, when you'd come live with us. After all, we do kill people. Either bad people or when we have no choice, of course. I wouldn't want to give you the wrong idea."

Seeing the fear in Kathryn's eyes, Stryss quickly added:

"Don't worry. Kane will never let you kill or witness him kill someone. I must say even I am jealous of how much he cares for you. Luckily K'tyss doesn't seem to mind."

With a sigh of relief, Kathryn went back to making her bag, putting her belongings inside. However, after a few minutes of reflection, she realized that one bag would never be enough to take everything. It was at that moment that she felt Stryss' hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about clothes or things like that. We can always buy others later, and yes we have human money. So instead of clothes, you'd better take the things you value the most, they can't be replaced."

Nodding in understanding, Kathryn then proceeded to load the bag with several items: a photo album, a ribbon, several presents from her grandfather, and a few pieces of jewelry. That way, her bag was ready much earlier than what she had expected.

Turning to go back downstairs, she noticed something, a faint glimmer, and, turning to see what it was, found herself looking at a flying machine the size of her fist. It was hovering just next to the tree in the house's yard, so until then, she had missed it.

"Stryss!" she yelled, panicked.

Immediately, the humanized hybrid was by her side and saw the drone. With a snarl, she opened the window and leaped on a branch, before spitting something on the drone, which instantly caused it to start melting. In a matter of seconds, the only thing left of it was a part of a camera, that soon melted down completely.

Jumping back in, Stryss grabbed Kathryn bridal style and quickly ran down the stairs. There, they met up with Kane, who was apparently waiting for them. Kathryn noticed that when he was serious like he was now, he looked utterly terrifying, and radiated a feeling of power that clearly told everyone around that they were in for a painful experience. Though, she also noticed now something that she had failed to see previously: he was wearing a very simple looking piece of armor, that covered the higher part of his chest, and had several different items hanging from a leather belt he wore around his waist. He also seemed to be carrying something like a mix between a backpack and a part of armor designed to protect his back, and wore a metallic bracelet around his left wrist.

"Ready?" he asked, and she nodded, as did Stryss.

"Stryss, you protect my sister 'till we get to You-Know-Where. I'll take care of anyone trying to get to you. Understood?"

The hybrid nodded, however, Kathryn was worried. He hadn't seen just how many resources the military had put to scan the town to look for him. It was more than likely than a full squad of soldiers was on its way, with some heavy vehicles as support.

"Kane..."

With a smile, he put a dark finger of her lips.

"Don't worry. We are way more prepared than they think. They are in for a very...nasty surprise if they think they can get us like that."

Saying that, the two hybrids grinned evilly. Suddenly, Kathryn was glad she wasn't their enemy, otherwise, she would have fled at the mere sight of their faces distorted in sadistic glee. With a nod to Stryss, he manipulated a few things on his bracelet, and the next second, he had disappeared. Suffice to say, Kathryn was more than a little surprised.

"Holy...

-Easy, Kathryn. I'm still here, but I'm now using a cloaking device that makes me invisible to human eyes."

With wide eyes, Kathryn stared at where her brother should have been standing, only to see nothing. Suddenly, two lights flashed where his eyes should have been, scaring the Hell out of her. Luckily, he had told her he was there, and she believed him, otherwise she might have screamed and fainted. All she did was jump, which, all in all, was a rather mild reaction.

Stryss, still carrying her, opened the door, and proceeded to walk down the street as innocently as a woman carrying a teenager bridal style could, which was to say not much. Luckily, not many people were around at the hour, so they managed to get away from the house by approximately two hundred meters before several vans appeared, blocking the way. Men in combat gear poured out of them, creating a wall by using their shields, while several helicopters flew over them in circles. Behind them, the same scene could be seen, and soon, their path was blocked with armed men, as well as vans, and even if they did manage to get past them, the helicopters could still easily shoot them, as they were out of Stryss's attack range, since she was obviously a close-quarter fighter.

For some reason, though, they didn't attack, which surprised Kathryn. She would have thought that even her presence wouldn't make them hesitate. She was not foolish enough to believe that they wouldn't risk harming her, since they would probably easily be able to make up an "unfortunate accident" that would explain her death. Maybe it was because they were afraid they'd harm Stryss? After all, to them, she was a valuable specimen, and they would probably rather capture her alive than kill her. Not that it would be preferable, after all, they weren't going to simply drink some tea with her if they managed to capture her.

As she was panicking and her thoughts were racing, she failed to noticed the buzzing of a electronic device, nor did she see the three faint red lines that went from seemingly nothing to one of the helicopters. Nor did she notice the slight tensing of Stryss's muscles. What she did notice, however, was the sudden flash and then the subsequent explosion of one of the helicopters, as well as the second, and then the third, all of them destroyed in less than five seconds.

The first explosion had momentarily surprised the men, as they had not been expecting a foe able to destroy a flying target, but as they were professionals, they recovered far quicker than a regular human, and less than two seconds after the first explosion, they were shooting everything they had at Kathryn and Stryss. Unfortunately for them, the hybrid had started to move, and by the time the first anesthetic darts started flying, she was already behind the closest house. The men stopped firing, and moved to block any escape route that Stryss was likely to take.

As they were slowly surrounding the property, they didn't notice a faint shimmer in the air, nor did they hear the occasional sound of something being dragged behind them. Only when their number was diminished by half did they notice that something was up, and they started to nervously clutch their weapons and look around. Didn't the report state that there was only ONE of these things around? So why were some of their men missing?

As only a dozen men were left, they immediately entered a formation with them back to back, allowing them to observe their surroundings perfectly. They were trained soldiers, so they would not let some kind of freak get the better of them! Of course, they obviously ignored that the "freak" was smarter, stronger, quicker, AND more experienced than them (courtesy of H'Chak-kta) in fights. There was also the fact that he wielded technology far above the current human one, and that he could become invisible to human eyes. Had the team known that, perhaps they would have reconsidered their decision to stay and take their target down.

Needless to say, when Kane appeared behind one of them, it took the man a second too many to realize he was attacked, before his head was separated from his body. The next second, his partner joined him in the afterlife, his neck broken.

As the remaining ten men started shooting at him, Kane grinned as the darts rebounded on his hardened exoskeleton. Even bullets would not scratch him now, so mere darts were nothing to him. What followed could only be described as a one-sided carnage, as the hybrid methodically killed every man that had been foolish enough to try and attack his family. However, to the experienced eye, it was not the fighting of a beast, it was the clean and deadly fighting of a master killer, no strike was useless, each one ending a life without any useless suffering.

Seconds later, the only one left standing was Kane, his tall body towering above the corpse of those who had thought they would be able to capture his friend and his sister. With a last glance towards the scene, he vanished, the cloaking device rendering him invisible once more as he started running towards where his charges were.

Kathryn was currently sitting on a rock, a little dazed. As soon as Stryss had gotten away, she had started running at a speed that would put Olympic athletes to shame, and had kept moving like that for a good half-hour, without showing the slightest hint of fatigue. People had been startled, to say the least, but she really didn't care about that. What she cared about, Kane, had yet to be back, and even though Stryss had assured her, repeatedly, that he would be fine, she was still worried. What if something happened to him? She wasn't sure she would be able to continue living if he was taken away from her once more.

Speaking of Stryss...The hybrid was laying on the ground, her eyes closed, her clothes taken off, in all her inhuman glory. At first, when she had started undressing, Kathryn had been shocked and had brought up her hands to hide the sight of a naked hybrid from her eyes, but once Stryss had told her she could look, she had taken a peek between her fingers, in only to ensure it was indeed okay to look, and indeed, it had been fine. Her skeleton covered her private parts, as well as her breasts, so it wasn't as awkward as it would have been should it have been K'tyss in her sister's place. After all, she had her breasts exposed quite permanently, and unless Kane had managed to teach her about the human's notion of "decency", she doubted she would have covered them.

As the hybrid was enjoying something that resembled a nap, Kathryn was still extremely nervous, and only the fact that something appeared right next to her, something she knew quite well, stopped her from waking up Stryss by a mighty slap on the face.

"KANE!"

Her brother was slowly walking towards them, and she took the time to examine him properly, since until then things had been too hectic to allow her to process everything. As she had seen earlier, he was much taller, which made him tower over everyone else, even Stryss, who was one of the tallest people she had ever met (granted, she was not entirely human, but neither was her brother). What surprised her, though, was even if he was still thin, he seemed to have gained a lot of muscles, which only served to make him look more dangerous. Then there was the fact that the last remaining human part of him was his face, as everything else was covered by the dark skeleton that covered every other inch of his body. On his back, where she remembered black spikes, were now laying tentacle-like appendages, each one finishing on a miniature version of the blade on his tail, his tail which now divided into two separated, but identical parts.

As she stared at her brother, she suddenly came to a realization that almost made her cry: no matter how hard she would try, she would never be like him, she would never be anything but a hindrance to his group. After all, what did she have for herself: she was one hundred percent human, she wasn't particularly smart, though she was still far from stupid, and she didn't have anything of use to Kane. She would be useless, a dead weight they would carry around only because Kane had likely convinced the others to let him invite her in their little family.

She was so engrossed in her grim thoughts that she didn't notice Kane before her, until he cupped her chin up, so that he could see her face.

"Hey, why the sad face?" he asked, as he proceeded to pat her head, something that he knew would calm her.

Sighing in relief, she whispered:

"I'm just going to be a burden...

-No, you're not. And trust me, if anyone says that, then they have no clue about it. You are not a burden, you're my sister, and everyone is waiting for you.

-But...But! But when you'll be fighting, I'll be useless!"

At that, Kane erupted in laughter.

"THAT's what have been worrying you? Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we can cook something up for you, so that you can fight with us. Of course, unless you become like us, you'll be a long-range fighter. I don't want my cute little sister getting injured.

-And why can't I fight with you?! Why can't I help you?!" she screamed, desperate. She wanted so badly to help him, to be by his side, yet even when he gave her hope, it was to see herself relegated to the role of support, something she was not willing to accept.

Her vehemence seemed to surprise Kane, who stared at her with worry in his eyes.

"Kathryn, you CAN fight with us, but you simply have to attack from afar. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, it's not as if you could live after getting shot multiple times, right?

-No, but...

-So you have to understand that you can't fight like us, in close-combat. That would be the best way for you to get killed."

Kathryn was about to cry, when she remembered her earlier conversation with Stryss, and an idea popped in her head. It was crazy, and Kane would probably be against it, but she felt it was the best solution.

Turning to him, determined to make her point, she saw him raise an eyebrow in question.

"Kane, the main reason I can't fight with you is that I'm a full-blooded human, right? Stryss told me you have a serum that can make you more or less human, depending on what you wish. Do you think you could create one that would make me like you?"

As she watched the face of Kane distort in pure shock, she received the answer she had expected:

"Oh, HELL NO!

-But...

-No buts! I won't let you become a target like us, just because you asked for it! Do you have any idea of how much enemies we have? Do you think I want you to have them try to kill you too?

-They'll try anyway, since I'm with your group." she pointed out.

"So what? With some luck, they'd deem you not worthy of their attention, and you'd be able to stay alive. However, if you are like us, there's no way they'll let you live.

-But...

-I told you, no buts!"

SLAP!

For a second, Kane stood there in shock, unable to understand what had happened. Kathryn had slappedhim? How could that be?

Kathryn, for her part, was shocked too. She had never expected to one day slap her brother, the one person she admired and loved most in the world. However, he had asked for it by denying her the right to choose her life. She liked that he was so protective of her, it was soo sweet, but there was a thin line between protective and overprotective, and he had just crossed it. She could understand that he only wanted to protect her, but she no longer was the same. The experiences she had lived when Kane had been away had been eye-openers: if you wanted to survive, you had to be strong, you had to be uncaring, and the most important, you had to be willing to put everything at stake.

"Now listen to me, Kane. I don't CARE if you don't want to do it, because you WILL do it, do you understand? It's MY decision to make, and it isn't, and never was, yours. So once we're wherever we're supposed to be, you ARE going to make this serum, and I WILL be one of yours, understood?"

She had the satisfaction to see her brother nod, still trying to grasp that she had slapped him. At least she had managed to convince him.

"Nervous?"

Kathryn looked to her left to see Stryss leaning on the metallic wall. Since they had been on the ship, she was the one who had gotten along with her the most outside of Kane. K'tyss liked her, and they could have great conversations, but they both knew that Kane would only ever be with the hybrid, and even if she could live with it, Kathryn couldn't help but feel a little jealous. As for H'Chak-kta, well, he was a man, he was from another species, and even though he was polite, she couldn't help but feel a little afraid from him. After all, his kind had hunted humans, and himself had done so more than once, so she was still uncomfortable around him. At least he understood and had decided to let her some time to come to terms with everything.

It had been a week since they had boarded the ship that served as their house, though Kane had assured her that they had several properties around the planet. When she asked how they had gotten the money for it, he had simply told her that "certain people" were not that missed, and that they often had a lot of money, and had told her to let it at that.

Both Kane and H'Chak-kta had been very busy during the last week, synthesizing the serum that would make her an hybrid like them. Of course, it had taken them time, since unlike them, she was one hundred percent human, and had apparently less "flexible" genes, meaning that they needed to make something potent enough to cause her to change, but not too much either, as it would be toxic. Considering that the only two transformations recorded were with conditions different than her own (Kane apparently being an hybrid since birth, though his genes were dormant, and H'Chak-kta being a Hunter, a species with extremely strong genes), they were in uncharted territory, and Kane wanted to be sure that the result would be what they wanted.

This was the night(?) she was to receive the serum, and she was deadly nervous. Sure, she wanted to become like the rest of her "family", but she was still afraid of what would happen should things go wrong.

"You have no idea."

Stryss nodded, and walked next to her, before sitting down next to her. They both watched through the bay that allowed them to see the exterior, staring at the stars, and at the huge blue planet that took over half of their field of view. Now that she had seen her without her human clothing, Kathryn had to admit that she was beautiful, and had a great body, though she had been surprised to see a second set of arms popping out from under her breasts, though they were much smaller than her other arms.

"Don't worry. Kane has been spending the last day running as much simulations as he could, and all the results were positive."

Kathryn sighed.

"I know. I mean, I trust Kane and your mate, but what if something goes wrong? What if it doesn't work? What if...

-Shh. It won't do you any good to worry at this point. But if it can help you, you know you can back out whenever you want. After the injection, it will be too late."

The young woman shook her head. After what she had to do to get her brother to agree to the idea, it was not likely. She wanted to be like him, she wanted to be with him, and most of all, she wanted to be able to protect him, if only a little. She didn't want to stay the little human girl that was too weak to do anything of use.

After a little while that the two women spent talking about trivial topics, Kane entered the room, a device with a syringe integrated in it in his hand. In the syringe, a yellowish-green liquid could be seen. His face was grave, as he too knew that the possibility of failure was minimal, yet if it was to happen, his sister would likely not come out of it alive or sane.

"Are you sure about this, Kathryn? You know I don't want you to do this...

-I'm sure, Kane. If I don't do this, I'll regret it. I can't continue like this, I have to be strong. After the last months, I can at least understand that."

Kane smiled, and patted her head.

"Human girl...courageous."

Everyone turned to look at H'Chak-kta. It was the first time they had heard him speak English, and while it sounded strange, the underlying praise was not lost on anyone.

"Thank you, Chakie."

The Hunter hybrid simply snorted at his nickname, and made a sign meaning "you're welcome".

"Don't worry, you can do it." encouraged K'tyss, who had entered the room after H'Chak-kta. This time, the vote of confidence felt even better, as it was coming from someone who had a few reasons to be wary of her, as she had a known crush on her mate.

As she was surrounded by people that loved her, Kathryn couldn't help but feel incredibly happy. At last she had people she knew she could count on no matter what, people who would understand her, people that would love her and stand by her side.

"Do it."

Kane nodded, and the dart of the syringe pierced the skin of her arm. As the serum started to enter her blood, she hoped for the best.

As the others stared at her, watching to see if anything happened, she simply stood here, waiting. She had an inkling that the transformation would be far from painless, as for what she had seen of her brother's, and heard from Stryss concerning H'Chak-kta's, the changes were hard on the body.

First, nothing happened, then, she clutched her stomach in pain, and doubled over, her mouth open in a silent scream. She was feeling as if her innards were being ripped apart, and the pain was so intense she almost fainted, the key word being almost. She collapsed on the ground, still conscious, but unable to keep standing, as her body refused to answer her brain's orders, shaking as spasms were moving her limbs.

In a remote part of her brain, one that was still able to process things other than pain, she could see the others looking at her, worried. Kane was livid, but trying to look brave, and K'tyss was trying to soothe him by holding his arm and assuring him of her presence. Stryss looked grave, but seemed still confident that what was happening was normal. H'Chak-kta, for his part, was staring at her, unblinking, his face blank.

Suddenly several cracking noises could heard, and she screamed in agony, her finger nails cutting into her palms, before collapsing, foam at the corner of her mouth. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was: Am I going to die?

As her senses gradually came back, she groaned. Yes, it was a very unladylike thing to do, but she was sore all over, and she was entitled to at least express it, right?

Sitting up, she nearly fell off whatever she had been laying on, as she the world started spinning. Not only was she sore, but she was overwhelmed but the information her senses were sending to her brain, and she felt sick.

As she was about to fall on the ground and throw up, comforting hands stopped her fall.

"Is everything okay?

-I feel...uughh..sick." she groaned, her hand before her mouth as the urge to vomit grew steadily stronger.

Whoever the hands belonged to understood, and took her to a toilet next to the room she had awoken in. As soon as she saw the toilet, Kathryn rushed forward and emptied her stomach, until only bile was left. At least she felt a little better now, her stomach wasn't making itself known anymore, and the headache she had felt when she had awoken had receded to tolerable levels.

"Feeling better?

-A little. Why am I sick?

-Probably a side-effect of the change, amongst others...

-Wait, "others"?"

She turned to look at the person that had been taking care of her, unsurprised to see her brother, who, for some reason, looked a little sheepish.

"What are you talking about? What side effects?

-Errrm...I think it's better if you see for yourself..."

He then proceeded to take her to his room, the only one who had a mirror (from what he said). As she saw her reflect, she stopped moving completely. Next to her, a statue would have looked like a dancing madman considering how still she was. Of course, she had some excuses.

In the mirror was the reflect of a woman in her twenties even more beautiful than Stryss, and that was saying something. Said woman had shiny dark hair falling on her shoulders, perfectly shaped breasts (THAT she noticed, as she had always been a little on the small side before, so the change was welcome), and legs that would have given anyone an instant leg fetish. Kathryn had trouble believing what she was seeing: she had become an hybrid, sure, but also the ultimate wet dream of any hormonal teenager (male OR female, as they would probably have been tempted).

"That's...me?" she whispered, hoping not to break the spell. Her voice easily conveyed her awe, and next to her, Kane sighed in relief.

"Yes. Honestly, I wasn't expecting this, and I was a little scared of what you'd think, once you'd find out...

-Are you crazy?! I'm dead sexy! I love this look!"

Kane absentmindedly noted that she hadn't even bothered to comment on her new alien features, that was a good sign. The next thing he knew, he was getting kissed all over his face by an overenthusiastic Kathryn, who had pinned him down. Apparently, she might be almost as strong as him now, so he would have to be careful.

Meanwhile, Kathryn felt as if she was dreaming. Not only was she able to stay with her brother, she was now able to help him, and she even gained some physical improvements as a side-effect! How could thing possibly get better (apart from Kane suddenly asking her out, but that was unlikely)?

She felt Kane grasp her wrist, and she laughed as he pulled her to meet the others. Well, at least now, she would be with her brother and have a REAL family, so she would enjoy it!

I hope this was good enough for you.

Before leaving you, a few things first:

-first, I want, once again, to thank all those who reviewed and PMed me, some of you gave me some good ideas to use. I also want to thank those who favorited and followed the story 'til this point, it was a huge pleasure knowing you appreciated it.

-second, I will be taking a few weeks off writing stories (those who said "we won't see the difference" will be brought down with extreme prejudice^^), and then I'll start posting again, though my next story won't be in this category, but either in the Harry Potter, or the Harry Potter Crossover category. Maybe some of you will be interested, just sayin'.

This is Arawn , Ladies and Gentlemen, and it was a pleasure.