**Briefing Room**
The meeting room felt oppressively quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos they had survived mere hours earlier. Kris leaned back in his chair, the weariness in his eyes hidden behind a mask of casual nonchalance. He twirled a datapad in his hand, but his mind was far from the device. Around the table, the remaining active players sat scattered, their expressions ranging from pensive to outright frustrated.
"All right," Kris began, his voice breaking the silence. "Let's go over this one more time. What do we know?"
Xuan shifted in his seat and responded, "Not much. We saved Newt, brought Ripley and Hicks back safely to the Sulaco, and even managed to rescue Vasquez and the lieutenant."
"And let's not forget Burke," Zheng added with a sharp tone. "He's locked up in the brig, courtesy of Hicks and Vasquez."
"Plus, no Queen stowed away on the ship, so Bishop avoided getting split in half." Xuan finished, giving Zheng a flat stare.
Jie raised an eyebrow. "Did you check the dropship for any eggs or facehuggers?"
Zheng sighed, running a hand over his face. "I did it myself. Found nothing. Not even the two facehuggers from the south facility."
Xuan cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Ah… about that. I brought those two along when we were on the other dropship. They're probably dead now since that dropship exploded along with the facility."
The room went still.
"What the f***, Xuan?!" Zheng exploded, shooting to his feet.
The tension snapped like a taut wire. Jie, Zero, and Kampa instinctively raised their weapons, pointing them at Xuan. Zheng followed suit, his voice seething with barely-contained rage.
"You idiot! Do you realize what you've done? Changing the plot like that—God's correcting the sequence as we speak! You've created a massive deviation. I should shoot you right now!" Zheng's voice trembled with anger, his gun steady despite his shaking fists.
Xuan, unfazed, shrugged. "I wanted to see if what you said about changing the plot was true. If the facehuggers were out of Burke's reach, he couldn't reenact the scene where he implants Ripley and Newt. Simple logic."
"Logic?" Jie spat, his grip tightening on his weapon. "You've risked all our lives for curiosity!"
Kris, unfazed by the rising chaos, leaned forward, his tone calm but commanding. "Hey. Put your guns down. Shooting him won't change anything." He turned to Zheng, his voice sharpening. "This isn't the first time this has happened, is it?"
Zheng hesitated, lowering his weapon slightly. "That was different."
Kris tilted his head. "What was that?"
"Nothing," Zheng muttered defensively, finally lowering his gun.
Kris's gaze swept the room. "Thought so. Now, all of you, lower your weapons."
The others begrudgingly complied, tension still thick in the air.
Kris turned back to Xuan, his expression unreadable. "I get it—you're curious. But did it ever cross your mind that your actions have consequences? We'll park this discussion for now. Let's focus on surviving the movie."
He stood, signaling the meeting's end. "Since we're getting nowhere with this discussion, take a break. We'll regroup when Lan and the others wake up."
As the players rose to leave, Kris stopped at the door, his tone turning uncharacteristically stern. "Listen up. This isn't over. I know we're all running on fumes, but don't let your guard down. Stay sharp."
"Dismissed."
Biscuit silently followed Kris out. Her lack of input during the meeting was unusual, but Kris didn't press her. They headed toward the mess hall, Kris's stomach growling audibly from the effects of the power pill.
---
**Med Bay**
The med bay was quiet, save for the faint hum of the ship's systems. Mr. Nice Guy sat beside Li Shuaixi's bed, his gaze soft with pity as he watched over the battered girl. His eyes wandered to the other players in the room, still unconscious and slowly recovering from their injuries.
A wet, crackling noise shattered the silence. Mr. Nice Guy froze, his head snapping toward Lieutenant Gorman's bed at the end of the row. His eyes widened in horror.
"Guys...!" he shouted, stumbling to his feet. "Something's happening to the lieutenant!"
No response. Vasquez, who was supposed to be standing guard outside the med bay, was nowhere to be seen.
Gorman convulsed violently, blood seeping through his bandages. A sickening bulge swelled in his chest, the skin stretching grotesquely.
"No… No!" Mr. Nice Guy gasped, fumbling with the safety on his weapon.
With a wet tear, a small alien burst forth, screeching as it launched itself at him. He fired too late. The creature's tail sliced cleanly across his neck before it scuttled away into the shadows.
---
**Corridor**
Vasquez walked back toward the med bay with two cups of coffee in hand. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her, and she muttered to herself about the lovesick puppy watching over the girl inside.
The door hissed open. "Hey, dude, I got us coffee, so quit mop—"
Her words died in her throat.
The room was a wreck. Blood coated the floor, bodies lay mangled, and Gorman's chest was a gaping cavity. Her stomach lurched, and she dropped the cups, drawing her weapon instinctively.
A screech echoed from the shadows. Vasquez spun, barely dodging as the alien lunged at her, its tail slashing through her side.
---
**Brig**
Bishop carried a tray of food to the brig for Burke.
Burke was just seated on the bed with his head down, as he asked Bishop,"So where's everyone else?"
"Resting, the others are in the meeting room." Bishop entered the food tray in the opening of the cell's small window.
Burke's smile turned cold. "Authorization override: Burke, Carter J. 8-4-D-4-5-5. Are you with me, Bishop?"
Bishop froze. His head jerked slightly. "What are your orders, sir?"
"Let me out."
The cell door opened with a hiss, and Burke turned to his fellow inmates. "Gentlemen, care for a deal?"
Minutes later, Burke and his new lackeys moved through the corridors, rifles in hand.
But just as they reached a junction, the sound of claws scraping against metal filled the air, followed by a low, rumbling screech that reverberated through the hull of the ship. The Queen, massive and furious, tore through the corridor with terrifying speed. Her tail whipped violently, smashing through the walls and crushing anything in its path.
Burke's eyes widened in shock as the Queen lunged forward, her claws slashing through the air with deadly precision. His lackeys barely had time to react before they were thrown aside like ragdolls, shredded by the Queen's brutal assault. The plan to seize control of the Sulaco—once so clear and within reach—was instantly reduced to chaos. The rampaging alien tore through their ranks with savage efficiency, scattering bodies across the corridor like they were nothing more than obstacles in its path.
Burke, heart pounding, stumbled backward, his rifle useless in the face of such raw power. It was clear now that he was just another casualty of this nightmare.
---
**Pursuit**
Hearing gunfire, Kris and Biscuit rushed toward the med bay, meeting Zheng and the others along the way.
The sight that greeted them was carnage. Vasquez, bloodied but alive, clutched her side as the alien charged down the corridor, disappearing around the bend.
"Damn it, that's a young Queen!" Kris muttered, his pulse rifle at the ready. He activated Geppo, propelling himself forward with Nen-enhanced bursts of speed. Biscuit followed, her own weapon unleashing a storm of bullets.
Ahead, the alien tore through Burke and his lackeys in a savage blur of claws and teeth. Kris barely spared them a glance, his focus locked on the fleeing Queen.
---
**The Final Confrontation**
The sound of claws scraping metal echoed through the ship's corridor. Kris, Biscuit, Zheng, and the remaining players pursued the young Queen, their weapons at the ready. The beast was fast, its tail whipping through the air as it tore down bulkheads and scattered sparks in its wake.
"She's heading for the docking bay!" Zheng shouted, his eyes narrowing as he sprinted to keep up.
The group skidded around the corner, finding the young Queen perched atop a pile of wreckage, her body gleaming with acidic slime. Her head tilted toward them, her jaw parting to reveal rows of teeth as she let out a deafening screech.
"Spread out!" Kris barked, activating Geppo to vault onto a nearby ledge.
Biscuit unleashed a storm of bullets, forcing the Queen to leap from the wreckage. Zheng and Jie flanked her, their rifles rattling as they poured fire into her flailing limbs.
"Watch the tail!" Jie shouted, narrowly ducking a swipe that sent a steel crate flying.
Kris landed on a walkway above the Queen, taking a moment to assess. **Her movements are erratic but predictable. She's trying to herd us into a corner.**
"Biscuit!" he called out. "Think you can pin her down?"
Biscuit didn't respond with words—she simply grinned and launched herself forward, Nen-enhanced strength allowing her to wrestle the Queen's tail. The alien thrashed violently, its shriek echoing through the corridor.
Kris's eyes darted to the exposed vent above the Queen. An idea sparked. "Zheng! Jie! Push her into the corner by the vent!"
Jie raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. "You heard the man! Suppressive fire!"
The Queen backed away under the relentless assault, her claws gouging the floor as she hissed in defiance. Kris adjusted his position, leaping onto a railing directly above her.
"Any last words, Your Majesty?" he quipped before shooting the vent above. The structure groaned as a tangle of pipes and debris collapsed onto the Queen, pinning her to the floor.
The alien screeched, acid blood sizzling as it ate through the wreckage. Biscuit pulled back, narrowly avoiding a spray of the corrosive liquid.
"She's not done yet!" Jie yelled as the Queen thrashed, dislodging a section of the debris.
Kris dropped down, landing directly on the Queen's back. Using Nen to enhance his strength, he drove the barrel of his rifle into the base of her skull. "Not so fast, ugly."
The Queen bucked, nearly throwing him off. Acid sprayed from her wounds, narrowly missing his legs. Kris gritted his teeth, maintaining his grip. "Zheng! Biscuit! Now would be a great time to help!"
Zheng threw one of his grenade at the beast, the explosion blasting apart the wreckage and further pinning the Queen. Biscuit leapt in, her hand forming a blade coated with nen flashed as she severed the creature's tail.
The Queen let out a final, ear-piercing shriek as Kris jammed the barrel deeper and fired, a Nen-infused shot obliterating her head.
Silence fell, broken only by the faint hiss of acid eating through metal.
"Shit! The acid is eating through the ship. Everybody move back to the corridor! We need to seal this area before it depressurizes. Where's Zero and Kampa?"
Zheng responded, "They went back to check on Ripley and Newt."
By the time they were a few meters away from the bulk door, the hanger floors gave out. Kris, tailing behind Biscuit and Zheng, pushed his remaining strength to use Geppo, tackling the two through the bulkhead doors. Without delay, it promptly closed.
Xuan standing near the control panel holding up the injured Bishop.
The familiar half awake state came for the players...